GK · Chapter 10

Awards

Nobel · Pulitzer · Booker · National Honours · Gallantry · Science & Sports Awards

Nobel Prize — Overview

Foundation: Nobel Foundation (1900)
Awarded annually on 10th December — Alfred Nobel's death anniversary (Stockholm, Sweden)
Fields since 1901: Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Peace and Literature
Since 1969: Economics (by Sveriges Riksbank)
Prize Amount: 11 Million Swedish Kronor (approx. ₹8–10 crore)

1900Nobel Foundation Est.

10 DecAward Ceremony Date

1969Economics Added

Awarding Bodies of Nobel Prize

Awarding Body	Prize(s) Awarded
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences	Physics, Chemistry, Economic Sciences
Karolinska Institute	Physiology or Medicine
Swedish Academy	Literature
Norwegian Nobel Committee	Peace

⚠ EXAM TRAP The Peace Prize is the ONLY Nobel Prize awarded by a Norwegian body (Norwegian Nobel Committee) — all others are Swedish institutions. This is asked very frequently.

Nobel Prize Winners 2024

Field	Winner(s)	Contribution
Peace	Nihon Hidankyo (Japanese Organisation)	Efforts toward a world free of nuclear weapons
Physics	John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton	Foundational discoveries enabling machine learning
Chemistry	David Baker, Demis Hassabis, John Jumper	Protein structure prediction and design
Physiology/Medicine	Gary Ruvkun and Victor Ambros	Discovery of microRNA and its role in gene regulation
Literature	Han Kang	Intense poetic prose confronting historical trauma
Economic Sciences	Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, James A. Robinson	Impact of institutions on economic development

Indian Citizens — Nobel Prize Winners

Name (Year)	Field
Rabindranath Tagore (1913)	Literature — for 'Gitanjali'
C.V. Raman (1930)	Physics — for the Raman Effect
Har Gobind Khorana (1968)	Medicine — genetic code and protein synthesis
Mother Teresa (1979)	Peace
Subrahmanyam Chandrasekhar (1983)	Physics — Chandrasekhar Limit for black holes
Amartya Sen (1998)	Economics — welfare economics
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan (2009)	Chemistry — 3D structure of ribosome
Kailash Satyarthi (2014)	Peace — child rights, Bachpan Bachao Andolan
Abhijit Banerjee (2019)	Economics

⚡ QUICK RECALL Chandrasekhar and Raman both won for PHYSICS but different discoveries — Raman Effect (1930) vs Chandrasekhar Limit (1983). Don't merge them.

Pulitzer Prize

Institution: Columbia University, USA (1917) — in memory of Joseph Pulitzer
23 Categories — Journalism, Literature and Music
Award: Certificate + $15,000 cash
First Indian Recipient: Gobind Behari Lal (1937)

⚡ QUICK RECALL Pulitzer Prize 2025 — Indian photojournalists Danish Siddiqui, Amit Dave, Adnan Abidi, and Sana Irshad Mattoo were honoured (Photography, 2022 work). New York Times won the most categories (4) in 2025.

Booker Prize & International Booker Prize

Organisation: Booker Prize Foundation
Earlier known as 'Man Booker Award' — Britain's highest literary award
Considered second only to the Nobel Prize in Literature
Field: English Literature (Novel)
2024 Winner: Samantha Harvey (British) — 'Orbital'

Author (Year)	Work
V.S. Naipaul (1971)	In a Free State
Salman Rushdie (1981)	Midnight's Children
Arundhati Roy (1997)	The God of Small Things
Kiran Desai (2006)	The Inheritance of Loss
Aravind Adiga (2008)	The White Tiger

International Booker Prize: Organised by Booker Prize Foundation and Crankstart (since 2019); for Translated English Literature.
2025 Winner: Banu Mushtaq (Indian writer) with Deepa Bhasthi (Indian translator) — 'Heart Lamp' (Story Collection)
2022 Indian Winner: Geetanjali Shree — 'Tomb of Sand' (Ret Samadhi); translated by Daisy Rockwell

⚠ EXAM TRAP International Booker Prize is for TRANSLATED fiction (author + translator both credited); the regular Booker Prize is for English-original novels only. Don't confuse the two categories.

Ramon Magsaysay Award

Organisation: Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (1957) — in memory of Ramon Magsaysay, former President of the Philippines
Called the 'Nobel Prize of Asia'
Fields: Public Service, Government Service, Community Leadership, Mass Communication, Journalism, International Community

Year	Notable Indian Winner
1958	Vinoba Bhave (First recipient)
1959	C.D. Deshmukh
1961 & 1962	Mother Teresa
1963	Verghese Kurien
1966	Kamladevi Chattopadhyay
1967	Satyajit Ray
1971	M.S. Swaminathan
2000	Aruna Roy
2006	Arvind Kejriwal
2015	Anshu Gupta
2016	Bezwada Wilson
2019	Ravish Kumar
2023	Dr. Ravi Kannan R.

Oscar Award (Academy Award)

Organisation: National Academy of Motion Pictures, USA — Established 1929
2025 Best Film Winner: Anora
First Indian Winner: Bhanu Athaiya (Costume Design for "Gandhi," directed by Richard Attenborough)
Lifetime Achievement Award: Satyajit Ray (1992)

Grammy Awards

Organisation: National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, USA — Founded 1958
For outstanding contributions to Western music
67th Grammy Awards (2025) — Best Global Music Album: 'Not Like Us' (Kendrick Lamar)
Indian Winners: Pt. Ravi Shankar (5 times), Zakir Hussain (4 times), Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Rakesh Chaurasia, Shankar Mahadevan, Ganesh Rajagopalan, Selvaganesh Vinayakram, Ricky Kej (3 times)

Bharat Ratna (National Award)

Established: 1954, started by Dr. Rajendra Prasad (India's First President)
Field: Highest Civilian Award of India — Art, Literature, Science, Public Service
Shape: Peepal Leaf, made of Bronze; inscribed "Satyameva Jayate"

Category	Recipient(s)
First Recipients (1954)	Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Dr. C.V. Raman
First Posthumous Recipient	Lal Bahadur Shastri (1966)
Foreign Recipients	Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan; Nelson Mandela
Youngest Recipient	Sachin Tendulkar (2014)

Bharat Ratna 2024	Note
Karpoori Thakur	Posthumously
Chaudhary Charan Singh	Posthumously
P.V. Narasimha Rao	Posthumously
Lal Krishna Advani	—
Dr. M.S. Swaminathan	Posthumously

⚠ EXAM TRAP Of the five 2024 Bharat Ratna recipients, ONLY L.K. Advani received it while alive — the other four were posthumous. A common detail-check trap.

Padma Awards

Established: 1954
Categories: Padma Vibhushan > Padma Bhushan > Padma Shri
Not conferred during 1978–79 and again 1993–97
2025: 139 Padma Awards (13 Posthumous, 10 Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI, 23 Women)

Gallantry Awards

Award	Rank	Description
Param Vir Chakra (PVC)	Highest Military Award	Best performance / self-sacrifice; First: Major Somnath Sharma (1949)
Mahavir Chakra (MVC)	Second Highest	Extraordinary valour in suppressing the enemy
Vir Chakra	Third Highest	—

Peacetime Award	Description
Ashoka Chakra	Courage, valour or self-sacrifice on land, water, sky
Kirti Chakra	Exceptional courage in the face of the enemy
Shaurya Chakra	Exceptional bravery during war conditions

⚡ QUICK RECALL Order of precedence: Param Vir Chakra → Ashoka Chakra → Mahavir Chakra → Kirti Chakra → Vir Chakra → Shaurya Chakra. 2025: 93 gallantry awards, including 11 posthumous.

National Film Awards & Dadasaheb Phalke Award

National Film Awards established 1954; under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

Category (71st, 2025)	Winner	Film
Best Actor	Shah Rukh Khan / Vikrant Massey	Jawan / 12th Fail
Best Actress	Rani Mukerji	Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway
Best Feature Film	—	12th Fail
Best Film in Hindi	—	Kathal: A Jackfruit Mystery
Best Direction	Sudipto Sen	The Kerala Story

Dadasaheb Phalke Award established 1969, in memory of Dadasaheb Phalke, given by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
First Recipient: Devika Rani (1969)
2021 Achiever: Waheeda Rehman; 2022 (70th) Achiever: Mithun Chakraborty

Jnanpith, Moortidevi & Sahitya Akademi

Bharatiya Jnanpith Award established 1965; presented by Bharatiya Jnanpith Trust; for works in any of the 22 Scheduled languages.
First Recipient: G. Shankar Kurup (1965 — Malayalam, 'Odakuzhal')
59th (2024): Vinod Kumar Shukla (Hindi); 58th (2023): Gulzar (Urdu) & Jagadguru Rambhadracharya (Sanskrit)
Moortidevi Award established 1983, presented by Bharatiya Jnanpith Trust, for Indian language or English literature. 33rd (2019): Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari.
Sahitya Akademi Award established 1954, by Government of India, for the best composition of the last 5 years, awarded in 24 languages.
2025 Winners: Parwati Tirkey (Hindi, Poetry); Advait Kattory (English) — 'Siddhartha: The Boy who Became the Buddha' (Novel)

Saraswati Samman & Vyas Samman

Saraswati Samman established 1991 by K.K. Birla Foundation; for outstanding literary work in any language in the 8th Schedule, published within the last 10 years.
First Recipient: Harivansh Rai Bachchan
34th (2024): Mahamahopadhyay Sadhu Bhadreshdas — 'Swaminarayan Siddhant Sudha'
33rd (2023): Prabha Varma (Malayalam) — 'Rudra Satvikam'
Vyas Samman established 1991 by K.K. Birla Foundation; for Hindi writing.
34th Vyas Samman (2024): Suryabala — 'Kaun Desh Ko Vasi: Venu Ki Diary'

⚠ EXAM TRAP Both Saraswati Samman and Vyas Samman were established in 1991 by the SAME foundation (K.K. Birla) — but Saraswati Samman covers any Indian language, while Vyas Samman is Hindi-only.

Science Awards

Award	Established	Purpose
Borlaug Award	1972	Outstanding contributions in agriculture
Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar (RVP)	—	National Science Award; 4 categories: Vigyan Ratna, Vigyan Shri, Vigyan Yuva, Vigyan Team
Dhanwantri Award	1972	Lifelong service in medicine; awarded on Dhanwantri Jayanti
Homi Bhabha Award	1990	Contributions to nuclear energy (DAE)
Vikram Sarabhai Award	1990	Outstanding contributions in space research
G.D. Birla Award	1991	High-level research; Indian scientists below 50 years

Sports Awards

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award (1991–92) — formerly Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award; India's highest sporting honour; for most outstanding performance over 4 years; Prize: ₹25 lakh + Citation.

Khel Ratna 2024	Sport
Gukesh D	Chess
Praveen Kumar	Para-Athletics
Harmanpreet Singh	Hockey
Manu Bhaker	Shooting

Arjuna Award (1961) — consistent good performance over 4 years; Prize: ₹15 lakh + statue + certificate; 2024: 32 athletes (17 Para-athletes).
Dronacharya Award (1985) — for outstanding coaches; Regular: ₹10 lakh, Lifetime: ₹15 lakh + statue.

Dronacharya 2024	Sport
Subhash Rana	Para-Shooting
Deepali Desh Pandey	Shooting
Sandeep Sangwan	Hockey
S. Muralidharan	Badminton
Armando Colaco	Football

Art Awards

Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards — given by Sangeet Natak Akademi (under Ministry of Culture); First award 1952; for excellence in Music, Dance, Theatre, Folk/Tribal Arts.
Akademi Fellow: ₹3 lakh; Akademi Award: ₹1 lakh; conferred by the President of India. 94 awards for 2022 & 2023.
Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar — given by Sangeet Natak Akademi; for outstanding young artists below age 40. 92 awards for 2022 & 2023.

Rajiv Gandhi & Indira Gandhi Award Series

Award	Purpose
Rajiv Gandhi Environment Award	Adoption of clean technology by industrial institutions
Indira Gandhi National Integrity Award	Maintaining national unity and integrity
Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar	Outstanding contribution to environment
Rajiv Gandhi Quality Improvement Award	Given by Bureau of Indian Standards to Indian organisations
Rajiv Gandhi National Goodwill Award	Promoting peace and communal harmony
Indira Priyadarshini Vriksha Mitra Award	Tree plantation and wasteland development

Indira Gandhi International Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development — established 1986; for contributions to international peace, disarmament and development.
2024 Winner: Michelle Bachelet (Former President of Chile)

Quick Reference Summary

Nobel PrizeNobel Foundation (1900); 10 Dec; 11M SEK

Nobel 2024 — PeaceNihon Hidankyo (Japan)

Nobel 2024 — PhysicsHopfield & Hinton — machine learning

Nobel 2024 — ChemistryBaker, Hassabis, Jumper — protein structure

Nobel 2024 — LiteratureHan Kang

Pulitzer PrizeColumbia University (1917); First Indian: Gobind Behari Lal (1937)

Booker Prize 2024Samantha Harvey — 'Orbital'

Booker — Indian OriginNaipaul, Rushdie, Roy, K. Desai, Adiga

Intl. Booker 2022Geetanjali Shree — 'Tomb of Sand'

Intl. Booker 2025Banu Mushtaq — 'Heart Lamp'

Ramon Magsaysay'Nobel Prize of Asia'; First Indian: Vinoba Bhave (1958)

Oscar 2025Best Film: Anora; First Indian: Bhanu Athaiya

GrammyFounded 1958; Ravi Shankar (5×), Zakir Hussain (4×)

Bharat Ratna1954; First: Rajagopalachari, Radhakrishnan, C.V. Raman

Bharat Ratna 2024Karpoori Thakur, Charan Singh, Narasimha Rao, Advani, Swaminathan

Youngest Bharat RatnaSachin Tendulkar (2014)

First Posthumous Bharat RatnaLal Bahadur Shastri (1966)

Padma Awards1954; Vibhushan > Bhushan > Shri

Param Vir ChakraHighest Military Award; First: Major Somnath Sharma (1949)

National Film AwardEstablished 1954; Ministry of I&B

Dadasaheb Phalke1969; First: Devika Rani; 2022: Mithun Chakraborty

Jnanpith Award1965; First: G. Shankar Kurup; 2024: Vinod Kumar Shukla

Sahitya Akademi1954; 24 languages

Saraswati Samman1991; First: Harivansh Rai Bachchan

Khel Ratna 2024Gukesh D, Praveen Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh, Manu Bhaker

Arjuna Award1961; ₹15 lakh

Dronacharya Award1985; Regular ₹10 lakh, Lifetime ₹15 lakh