Awards and Honours — Study Notes

Overview

Awards and Honours is a high-yield topic in SSC GD where 2–4 questions routinely appear. Questions test your ability to match award names with recipients, recall the year or field of honour, and identify the hierarchy or purpose of civilian and military awards. This topic is purely memory-based — you must know **who received which award, when, and why**. Success depends on systematic memorisation of India's top civilian honours (Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri), gallantry awards (Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra, Vir Chakra, Ashok Chakra, etc.), and notable Indian Nobel Prize winners. Examiners frequently ask about **recent awardees** (last 2–3 years) and **first recipients** or **most famous recipients** in each category. Keep a running list updated through current affairs and revise this topic monthly to stay exam-ready.

Understanding the hierarchy and purpose of each award helps eliminate wrong options. For instance, knowing that Bharat Ratna is higher than Padma awards or that Param Vir Chakra is wartime while Ashok Chakra is peacetime allows you to reason through unfamiliar names. For Nobel laureates, focus on Indian-origin scientists, economists and peace activists — the SSC GD syllabus does not require exhaustive global lists.

Key Concepts

• **Bharat Ratna** is India's highest civilian award, given for exceptional service in any field. It has no formal recommendations and is announced directly by the President. No more than three awards per year. Notable: no monetary grant, recipients get precedence in the Indian Order of Precedence.

• **Padma Awards** are announced on Republic Day each year. They come in three tiers: Padma Vibhushan (exceptional service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service), Padma Shri (distinguished service in any field). Padma Shri is the fourth-highest civilian honour after Bharat Ratna and the two higher Padmas.

• **Gallantry Awards** recognise acts of bravery. They are divided into **wartime** (Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra, Vir Chakra) and **peacetime** (Ashok Chakra, Kirti Chakra, Shaurya Chakra). Param Vir Chakra is the highest military decoration, equivalent to the Victoria Cross or Medal of Honor.

• **Nobel Prize** winners from India include Rabindranath Tagore (Literature, 1913), C.V. Raman (Physics, 1930), Mother Teresa (Peace, 1979), Amartya Sen (Economics, 1998), Kailash Satyarthi (Peace, 2014), and Abhijit Banerjee (Economics, 2019). Note that some laureates (e.g. Har Gobind Khorana) were Indian-born but held foreign citizenship at the time of award.

• Questions often pair an award with a field (sports, arts, science, public service) or ask you to identify the **year of institution** (e.g. Bharat Ratna instituted in 1954, Padma awards in 1954, Param Vir Chakra in 1950).