BHARAT RATNA

About: 

• The Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Bharat Ratna recipients rank seventh in the Indian order of precedence. 
  
  
• Instituted in: 1954. The first recipients of the Bharat Ratna were C. Rajagopalachari, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and C. V. Raman, who were honoured in 1954. 
  
  

• Criteria: 
  • The award is conferred in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order in "any field of human endeavour". 
    
    
  • The award was originally limited to achievements in the arts, literature, science, and public services, but this was changed in 2011. 
    
    
  
  
  
• Eligibility: 
  • The award is conferred without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. 
    
    
  • Though usually conferred on India-born citizens, the Bharat Ratna has been awarded to one naturalised citizen, Mother Teresa, and to two non-Indians, Pakistan national Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and former South African President Nelson Mandela. 
    
    
  • The original statutes did not provide for posthumous awards but were amended in 1955 to permit them. Former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri became the first individual to be honoured posthumously. 
    
    
  
  
  
• Award Process: There is no formal nomination process. The recommendations for the award can only be made by the Prime Minister to the President. 
  
  
• Limits: A maximum of three nominees can be awarded per year. 
  
  
• Medal: 
  • Recipients receive a certificate signed by the President and a medal. There is no monetary grant associated with the award. 
    
    
  • The medal is in the shape of a peepal leaf rimmed in platinum. The sun burst design with rays spreading out, made of platinum, is embossed on the obverse side of the medal. 
    
    
  • The words "Bharat Ratna", in Devanagari Script, is inscribed on the obverse side. 
    
    
  • A State Emblem of India Is placed in the centre of the reverse side with the national motto, "Satyamev Jayate" (Truth alone triumphs) in Devanagari Script. 
    
    
  
  
  

Recent winners: 

• Pranab Mukherjee: He was the 13th President of India and served from 2012 until 2017. He was also finance minister under the prime ministership of Manmohan Singh. 
  
  
• Nanaji Deshmukh: 
  • He had been a member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He is credited with bolstering the Jana Sangh in Uttar Pradesh. 
    
    
  • As a social activist, he laid emphasis on education. He established first Saraswati Shishu Mandir at Gorakhpur in 1950. 
    
    
  • He was a member of the Lok Sabha from 1977 to 1979 and served as a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha from 1999 to 2005. 
    
    
  
  
  
• Bhupen Hazarika: He was a legendary singer-composer from Assam who died in 2011.