Bharat Ratna Award Winners List

The Bharat Ratna is Indian's highest civilian award, which was introduced on 2nd January, 1954.

The award is conferred on the basis of exceptional service of the highest order to any field, which is presented by the president of India.

In one year maximum 3 awards can be provided irrespective of race, occupation, position or sex. The first award was awarded to politician C. Rajagopalachari, philosopher Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and scientist CV Raman in 1954.

However, the Bharat Ratna awardees are benefited with a diplomatic passport, that provides a separate immigration counter, access to VIP lounge in the airports and many more. Here we are presenting the complete list of the Bharat Ratna awardees since 1954.

Name	Year	Prime minister	Notes
Karpoori Thakur (Posthumously)Bihar	2024	Narendra ModiBharatiya Janata Party (NDA)	Karpoori Thakur, was the eleventh Chief Minister of Bihar and served two terms from December 1970 to June 1971 and again from June 1977 to April 1979.He introduced 26% reservation plan in 1978, under this model women received 3%, quota, other backward classes (OBWs) from upper castes received 12%, most backward classes received 8% government jobs under state government. A school teacher by profession, during his tenure, many schools and colleges were established in Bihar.
Lal Krishna AdvaniMaharastra	2024	Narendra ModiBharatiya Janata Party (NDA)	From 2002 to 2004, Lal Krishna Advani served as India's seventh deputy Prime Minister. He is a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and one of the co-founders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In addition to being the longest-serving Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, he held the role of Minister of Home Affairs from 1998 to 2004.He was initially elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989, and served for seven terms. He was a member of the Indian parliament until 2019, and he is recognized for having contributed to the BJP's ascent to prominence. He received India's second-highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2015, and the country's highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, in 2024.
PV Narasimha RaoAndhra Pradesh	2024	Narendra ModiBharatiya Janata Party (NDA)	Popularly known as P. V. Narasimha Rao, was an Indian lawyer and politician who served as the 9th Prime Minister of India from 1991 to 1996. Manmohan Singh, the former prime minister, referred to Rao as the real father of India's economic reforms.Rao, who led a minority administration at the time, was also known as Chanakya for his skill in guiding political and economic laws through the parliament.In 1996, Kalam mentioned, Rao had asked him to prepare for nuclear weapons testing.Numerous surveys and evaluations indicate that Rao was among the India's greatest Prime Minister.In addition to politics, he was fluent in 17 languages and had a strong interest in literature, computer software, particularly programming.His accomplishments include leading India through the economic crisis of 1991, serving as head of a minority administration for the entirety of his term in office, forging diplomatic ties with Israel, enforcing strict laws against terrorism in Kashmir, and beginning talks toward partial diplomatic relations with Taiwan.On February 9, 2024, he was posthumously granted the Bharat Ratna.
Charan SinghUttar Pradesh	2024	Narendra ModiBharatiya Janata Party (NDA)	Chaudhary Charan Singh, Indian politician and a freedom fighter.He served as the 5th Prime Minister of India from 23 December 1902 – 29 May 1987 and 5th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh between 28 July 1979 and 14 January 1980.He is commonly referred to as the Champion of India's Peasants by both historians and the general public.Charan Singh, who was often imprisoned, pursued Mahatma Gandhi in his nonviolent fight for independence from the British Government. He was imprisoned by the British for 12 years in 1930 for breaking the salt rules, and he was let free in November of 1943.India's farming communities gave rise to the Hindi name Kisan Ghat for his memorial in New Delhi.December 23, his birthday, is observed as Kisan Diwas.On the third anniversary of the death, the Indian government released a commemorative postage stamp (May 29, 1990).In his honor, Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport was renamed from Amausi Airport in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, and Chaudhary Charan Singh University was renamed from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.He received the Bharat Ratna posthumously on February 9, 2024.
Dr MS SwaminathanTamil Nadu	2024	Narendra ModiBharatiya Janata Party (NDA)	Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan was an Indian agronomic, agricultural scientist, plant geneticist, administrator, and humanitarian who lived from August 7, 1925, to September 28, 2023.As a leader on a global scale, he is credited for spearheading the green revolution in India through his introduction and advancement of high-yielding rice and wheat cultivars.In 1987, he received the inaugural World Food Prize, which is regarded as one of the greatest accolades in the agricultural industry.He is referred to as "the Father of Economic Ecology" by the United Nations Environment Programme.Along with Gandhi and Tagore,he was one of three Indians included in Time's 1999 list of the 20 most significant Asian figures of the 20th century.Ramana Maharshi and Gandhi had an impact on his personal life.A one third of their family's 2000 acres were donated to Vinoba Bhave's campaign.He had won 32 international and 33 national honors as of 2016. In honour of Swaminathan, an annual prize known as the 'Dr. M.S. Swaminathan prize for Leadership in Agriculture' was established in 2004 by an Indian agricultural think-tank.84 honorary doctorates were awarded to Swaminathan.He received the Bharat Ratna posthumously on February 9, 2024.

Name	Year	Prime minister	Notes
Pranab MukherjeeWest Benagl	2019	Narendra ModiBharatiya Janata Party (NDA)	Mukherjee was 13th President of India. In a political career spanning five decades, and had been a senior leader in the Indian National Congress and had occupied several ministerial portfolios in the Government of India.
Nanaji DeshmukhMaharashtra	2019	Narendra ModiBharatiya Janata Party (NDA)	Chandikadas Amritrao Deshmukh also known as Nanaji Deshmukh was a social activist from India. He worked in the fields of education, health, and rural self-reliance. He was a leader of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and also a member of the Rajya Sabha.
Bhupen HazarikaAssam	2019	Narendra ModiBharatiya Janata Party (NDA)	Hazarika was an Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, poet and film-maker from Assam, widely known as Sudhakantha. His songs, written and sung mainly in the Assamese language by himself, are marked by humanity and universal brotherhood and have been translated and sung in many languages, most notably in Bengali and Hindi.
Madan Mohan MalaviyaUttar Pradesh	2015	Narendra ModiBharatiya Janata Party (NDA)	Scholar and Educational Reformer. Malaviya is a founder of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha (1906) and Banaras Hindu University and served as the university's vice-chancellor from 1919 until 1938. He was the President of Indian National Congress for four terms and was the Chairman of Hindustan Times from 1924 to 1946.
Atal Bihari BajpayeeMadhya Pradesh	2015	Narendra ModiBharatiya Janata Party (NDA)	Parliamentarian for over four decades, Elected nine times to the Lok Sabha, twice to the Rajya Sabha, and served as the Prime Minister of India for three terms and was awarded the "Best Parliamentarian" in 1994.

Name	Year	Prime minister	Notes
C. N. R. RaoKarnataka	2014	Manmohan SinghIndian National Congress (UPA)	The recipient of Honorary Doctorates from 63 Universities including Purdue, IIT Bombay, Oxford. Chemist and Professor Rao has worked prominently in the fields of Solid State and Materials Chemistry, Spectroscopy and Molecular Structure. He has authored around 1600 research papers and 48 books.
Sachin TendulkarMaharashtra	2014	Manmohan SinghIndian National Congress (UPA)	Cricketer, Having debuted in 1989, Tendulkar played 664 international cricket matches in a career spanning over two decades. He holds various cricket records including the only player to have scored one hundred international centuries, the first batsman to score a double century in a One Day International and the only player to complete more than 34,000 runs in both ODI and Test cricket.
Bhimsen JoshiKarnataka	2009	Manmohan SinghIndian National Congress (UPA)	A Hindustani classical vocalist from Karnataka, Joshi was a disciple of Kirana gharana, an Indian musical school. He is widely known for the Khyal genre of singing with a "mastery over rhythm and accurate notes".
Lata MangeshkarMadhya Pradesh	2001	Atal Bihari VajpayeeBharatiya Janata Party (NDA)	Widely credited as the "Nightingale of India". In 1989, Mangeshkar was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, She has sung songs in over 36 languages.
Bismillah KhanBihar	2001	Atal Bihari VajpayeeBharatiya Janata Party (NDA)	Hindustani classical shehnai player, Khan played the instrument for more than eight decades and is credited to have brought the instrument to the centre stage of Indian music.
Jayaprakash NarayanBihar	1999	Atal Bihari VajpayeeBharatiya Janata Party (NDA)	Activist, and social reformer
Amartya SenWest Bengal	1999	Atal Bihari VajpayeeBharatiya Janata Party (NDA)	Economist, Winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (1998).
Gopinath BordoloiAssam	1999	Atal Bihari VajpayeeBharatiya Janata Party (NDA)	Independence activist, He was the first Chief Minister of Assam (1946–50).
Ravi ShankarUttar Pradesh	1999	Atal Bihari VajpayeeBharatiya Janata Party (NDA)	Winner of four Grammy Awards and often considered "the world's best-known exponent of Hindustani classical music", sitar player Shankar is known for his collaborative work with Western musicians including Yehudi Menuhin and George Harrison.
M. S. SubbulakshmiTamil Nadu	1998	Inder Kumar GujralJanata Dal (NF)	Carnatic Classical Vocalist. She is the first Indian musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay award for her public service. She was honoured as a resident artist Aasthana Vidwan of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam. Tirupati Urban Development Authority (TUDA) has installed a bronze statue of her in the city. Her many famous renditions include the chanting of Bhaja Govindam, Vishnu Sahasranamam (1000 names of Vishnu), Hari Tuma Haro, Venkateswara Suprabhatam (musical hymns to awaken Lord Balaji early in the morning), Annamacharya Sankirtanas and Tamil Tevaram. She also acted in a few Tamil films in her youth from 1938 to 1947. She donated many of the royalties on several best sold records to many charity organisations.
Chidambaram SubramaniamTamil Nadu	1998	Inder Kumar GujralJanata Dal (NF)	Activist and former Minister of Agriculture of India
Gulzarilal NandaPakistan	1997	Inder Kumar GujralJanata Dal (NF)	Activist, and interim Prime Minister of India.
Aruna Asaf AliHaryana	1997	Inder Kumar GujralJanata Dal (NF)	Independence Activist. He is better known for hoisting the Indian flag in Bombay during the Quit India Movement in 1942. Post Independence, Ali was elected as Delhi's first mayor in 1958.[120]
A.P.J Abdul KalamTamil Nadu	1997	Inder Kumar GujralJanata Dal (NF)	He was the eleventh President of India. Aerospace and Defense Scientist. Kalam was involved in the development of India's first satellite launch vehicle SLV III and was the architect of Integrated Guided Missile Development Program. He worked for Indian National Committee for Space Research, Indian Space Research Organisation, Defence Research and Development Laboratory and was appointed as the Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister, Secretary to Department of Defence Research and Development and Director General of Defence Research and Development Organisation.
Abul Kalam AzadSaudi Arabia	1992	P. V. Narasimha RaoIndian National Congress	Activist and First Minister of Education and worked towards free primary education. He is widely known as "Maulana Azad" and his birthday on 11 November is observed as National Education Day in India.
J. R. D. TataFrance	1992	P. V. Narasimha RaoIndian National Congress	Industrialist, philanthropist, and aviation pioneer. Tata founded India's first airline Air India. He is the founder of various institutes including Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Tata Memorial Hospital, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Tata Motors, TCS, National Institute of Advanced Studies, and National Centre for the Performing Arts.
Satyajit RayWest Bengal	1992	P. V. Narasimha RaoIndian National Congress	Director, Film-maker, Writer, Novelist. Ray was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest award in cinema. In 1991, he received Academy Honorary Award.
Rajiv GandhiMaharashtra	1991	P. V. Narasimha RaoIndian National Congress	Rajiv Gandhi was the sixth Prime Minister of India serving from 1984 to 1989.
Vallabhbhai PatelGujarat	1991	P. V. Narasimha RaoIndian National Congress	Activist and first Deputy Prime Minister of India. He is known as the "Iron Man of India".
Morarji DesaiGujarat	1991	P. V. Narasimha RaoIndian National Congress	He is the only Indian national to be awarded the Nishan-e-Pakistan, highest civilian award given by the Government of Pakistan. He was also the first Prime Minister of India not to be from the Indian National Congress.
B.R. AmbedkarMadhya Pradesh	1990	Vishwanath Pratap SinghJanata Dal (NF)	Social reformer, Law Maker and Leader of the Dalits. Ambedkar was the Chief architect of the Indian Constitution and also served as the first Law Minister of India.
Nelson MandelaUnion of South Africa	1990	Vishwanath Pratap SinghJanata Dal (NF)	Leader of the Anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa, President of South Africa. Often called as the "Gandhi of South Africa", Mandela's African National Congress movement was influenced by Gandhian philosophy. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.
M. G. RamachandranSri Lanka	1988	Rajiv GandhiIndian National Congress	Known as the "Puratchi Thalaivar" ("Revolutionary Leader"). Actor turned Politician, He was the first actor to become the chief minister of the state in the history of India. He is the founder of Indian political party All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
Khan Abdul Ghaffar KhanPakistan	1987	Rajiv GandhiIndian National Congress	First noncitizen, independence activist. Widely known as "Frontier Gandhi", independence activist and Pashtun leader Khan was a follower of Mahatma Gandhi. He joined Khilafat Movement in 1920 and founded Khudai Khidmatgar ("Red Shirt movement") in 1929.
Vinoba BhaveMaharashtra	1983	Indira GandhiIndian National Congress	Independence activist, social reformer, and a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi. He is best known for his Bhoodan movement, "Land-Gift Movement". He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award (1958) for his humanitarian work.
Mother TeresaNorth Macedonia	1980	Indira GandhiIndian National Congress	Catholic nun and the founder of the Missionaries of Charity. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work in 1979.
K. KamarajTamil Nadu	1976	Indira GandhiIndian National Congress	Independence activist and statesman, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
V. V. GiriOdisha	1975	Indira GandhiIndian National Congress	Trade Unionist, Giri held positions of Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Mysore and various other cabinet ministries. He became the first acting president and was eventually elected as the fourth President of India (1969–74).
Indira GandhiUttar Pradesh	1971	Indira GandhiIndian National Congress	Known as the "Iron Lady of India", First women Prime Minister of India.
Lal Bahadur ShastriUttar Pradesh	1966	Indira GandhiIndian National Congress	Activist and served as the second Prime Minister of India. Known for his slogan "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan" ("Hail to the Soldier, hail to the Farmer")
Zakir HusainHyderabad	1963	Jawaharlal NehruIndian National Congress	Activist, Economist, and Education Philosopher served as a Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University and the Governor of Bihar. He was second Vice-President of India (1962–67) and the third President of India (1967–69).
Pandurang Vaman KaneMaharashtra	1963	Jawaharlal NehruIndian National Congress	Indologist and Sanskrit scholar, known for his five-volume literary work
Rajendra PrasadBihar	1962	Jawaharlal NehruIndian National Congress	Activist, Lawyer, Statesman, and Scholar. He was the first President of India (1950–62).
Bidhan Chandra RoyBihar	1961	Jawaharlal NehruIndian National Congress	Physician, Political Leader, Philanthropist, Educationist, and Social Worker. His birthday, 1 July is observed as National Doctors' Day in India.
Purushottam Das TandonUttar Pradesh	1961	Jawaharlal NehruIndian National Congress	Activist and speaker of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly (1937–50)
Dhondo Keshav KarveMaharashtra	1958	Jawaharlal NehruIndian National Congress	Social reformer and educator, Karve is widely known for his works related to woman education and remarriage of Hindu widows. He established the Widow Marriage Association (1883), Hindu Widows Home (1896), and started Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women's University in 1916.
Govind Ballabh PantUttarakhand	1957	Jawaharlal NehruIndian National Congress	Activist and First Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
Bhagwan DasUttar Pradesh	1955	Jawaharlal NehruIndian National Congress	Activist, philosopher, and educationist
M. VisvesvarayaKarnataka	1955	Jawaharlal NehruIndian National Congress	Civil engineer, statesman, and Diwan of Mysore. His birthday, 15 September, is observed as "Engineer's Day" in India.
Jawaharlal NehruUttar Pradesh	1955	Jawaharlal NehruIndian National Congress	Independence activist, Author and First and the longest-serving Prime Minister of India (1947–64).
C. RajagopalachariTamil Nadu	1954	Jawaharlal NehruIndian National Congress	Known as the "Mootharignar" ("Scholar Emeritus"), Rajagopalachari was the Governor-General of India (1948–50). He was the home minister in Nehru's first cabinet. Rajaji was the first Governor of West Bengal. He also served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for over two years between 1952 and 1954. He is the founder of Indian political party Swatantra Party.
Sarvapalli RadhakrishnanTamil Nadu	1954	Jawaharlal NehruIndian National Congress	India’s first Vice-President and Second President. Since 1962, his birthday on 5 September is observed as "Teachers' Day" in India.
C. V. RamanTamil Nadu	1954	Jawaharlal NehruIndian National Congress	Physicists, mathematicians and scientists. Widely known for his work on the scattering of light and the discovery of the effect, better known as "Raman scattering", Raman mainly worked in the field of atomic physics and electromagnetism and was presented Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930.

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