---
type: LearningResource
title: The Bharat Ratna Award
canonical: "https://www.easy2crack.com/study-materials/awards-and-honours/the-bharat-ratna-award-i4xMf2OH"
subject: Awards and Honours
format: null
free: true
updated: null
tags: ["study-material", "notes", "awards-and-honours"]
---
# The Bharat Ratna Award

## The Bharat Ratna Award

The Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of the Republic of India.

## 1. Selection and Regulations

- Establishment: Instituted on January 2, 1954, to recognize exceptional service of the highest order, without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex.
- Nominations: Recommended by the Prime Minister directly to the President of India. A maximum of three nominees may be awarded in a single calendar year.
- Precedence: Recipients rank seventh in the Indian Order of Precedence.
- Ceremony & Manufacture: Medals are produced at the Alipore Mint in Kolkata. The formal ceremony is held annually at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.

## 2. Design Specifications

- Shape: Designed in the shape of a peepal leaf, approximately $2\frac{5}{16}$ inches (59 mm) long, $1\frac{7}{8}$ inches (47 mm) wide, and $\frac{1}{8}$ inch (3.2 mm) thick, rimmed in platinum.
- Obverse: Features an embossed platinum sunburst (diameter ranging between $\frac{1}{2}$ to $\frac{5}{8}$ inch) with the words "Bharat Ratna" inscribed in Devanagari script.
- Reverse: Features the State Emblem of India and the national motto "Satyameva Jayate" in Devanagari script.
- Ribbon: Attached to a 2-inch-wide (51 mm) white ribbon to be worn around the neck.

## 3. Historical Milestones and Records

- Inaugural Recipients (1954):
- First Posthumous Recipient: Former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.
- Youngest Recipient: Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, awarded in 2014 at the age of 40.
- Oldest Recipient: Social reformer Dhondo Keshav Karve, awarded in 1958 on his 100th birthday.
- First Naturalized Citizen: Mother Teresa (honored in 1980).
- First Woman: Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (honored in 1971).
- Non-Indian Recipients:
- Controversy & Withdrawal: In 1992, the award was announced posthumously for Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. Due to legal controversies surrounding his demise and opposition from his family regarding the posthumous designation, the award was not accepted. This is the only instance in the award's history where a conferral was withdrawn.

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