This Awards & Honours quiz on Bharat Ratna and Padma Awards puts 12 multiple-choice questions to you, the verified MCQs published with GK24's note on the topic. Every question carries a full explanation of why the correct option is right and why the other options are wrong, so you learn the fact behind the answer rather than the letter. Attempt it right after reading the note, keep to the timer, and use the explanations at the end to mark what needs another look. Sit it again before the exam as a quick revision of the topic.
12 questions with answers and explanations
The Bharat Ratna and the Padma awards were instituted in which year?
Both honours were instituted on 2 January 1954 by President Dr. Rajendra Prasad, and the first Bharat Ratna was conferred in the same year on C. Rajagopalachari, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and C. V. Raman.
Read the full explanation →Which civilian award of India ranks immediately below the Bharat Ratna?
The order of precedence of the civilian honours runs Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, and the Padma Vibhushan is given for exceptional and distinguished service.
Read the full explanation →Who were the first recipients of the Bharat Ratna in 1954?
All three were honoured in 1954, the first year of the award. Rajagopalachari was the last Governor-General of India, Radhakrishnan was a philosopher who later became President, and Raman was the physicist who discovered the effect that carries his name.
Read the full explanation →Who was the first person to be awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously?
Until then the honour had been given only to living persons.
Read the full explanation →Who was the first woman to receive the Bharat Ratna?
She was Prime Minister at the time, and the award followed the events of that year.
Read the full explanation →Who was the first person not of Indian nationality to be awarded the Bharat Ratna?
Known as the Frontier Gandhi, he led the non-violent Khudai Khidmatgar movement in the North-West Frontier Province and remained a citizen of Pakistan after partition, which makes him the first recipient who was not an Indian national.
Read the full explanation →Under the Constitution of India, which Article abolishes titles and is cited in connection with the civilian awards?
Because of it, the Bharat Ratna and the Padma awards may not be used as a prefix or suffix to a recipient's name, and the awards were challenged on this ground before the Supreme Court upheld them in the Balaji Raghavan case.
Read the full explanation →The Padma Awards Committee, which considers nominations each year, is headed by whom?
The Padma Awards Committee is constituted afresh by the Prime Minister each year and is headed by the Cabinet Secretary, with the Home Secretary, the Secretary to the President and a number of eminent persons as members.
Read the full explanation →What is the maximum number of Padma awards that may be conferred in a year, excluding posthumous awards and those given to foreigners and non-resident Indians?
The rules provide that not more than 120 Padma awards may be conferred in a year, and awards made posthumously and those given to foreigners and non-resident Indians are counted outside that ceiling.
Read the full explanation →The Bharat Ratna medallion is shaped like which leaf?
The Bharat Ratna medallion is made in toned bronze in the shape of a peepal leaf, with a platinum sun and the words Bharat Ratna in Devanagari on the front, and the State Emblem of India with the motto Satyameva Jayate on the back.
Read the full explanation →Who was the first sportsperson to receive the Bharat Ratna?
He became eligible because the scope of the award had been widened in December 2011 from art, literature, science and public service to any field of human endeavour, and he is also the youngest person to receive the Bharat Ratna.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements about the Bharat Ratna is correct?
A recipient of the Bharat Ratna is given a Sanad, which is a certificate signed by the President, together with the medallion, and the award is conferred at Rashtrapati Bhavan, usually a few weeks after the names are announced on the eve of Republic Day.
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