List of Bharat Ratna Award Winners : Updated Full List Till 2024

In the Year 2024, the Bharat Ratna Award 2024 was given to five persons i.e. Karpoori Thakur, Lal Krishna Advani, Narasimha Rao, Chaudhary Charan Singh, and M.S Swaminathan. The Bharat Ratna Award is the highest civilian award in India. Check the Bharat Ratna Award Winners list from 1954 to 2024 from the below table.

List of Bharat Ratna award winners (1954 – 2024)

Sl. No.	Winner Name	Year	About Person
1	Chakaravarti Rajagopalachari	1954	Independence activist and statesman.
2	Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan	1954	Philosopher and former President of India.
3	Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman	1954	Nobel Prize-winning physicist.
4	Bhagwan Das	1955	Independence activist and philosopher.
5	Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya	1955	Civil engineer and statesman.
6	Jawaharlal Nehru	1955	First Prime Minister of India.
7	Govind Ballabh Pant	1957	Independence activist and politician.
8	Dhondo Keshav Karve	1958	Social reformer and educator.
9	Bidhan Chandra Roy	1961	Physician and political leader.
10	Purushottam Das Tandon	1961	Independence activist and social reformer.
11	Rajendra Prasad	1962	First President of India and freedom fighter.
12	Zakir Husain	1963	Educationist and third President of India.
13	Pandurang Vaman Kane	1963	Indologist and Sanskrit scholar.
14	Lal Bahadur Shastri (Posthumous)	1966	Former Prime Minister and leader.
15	Indira Gandhi	1971	Former Prime Minister of India.
16	Varahagiri Venkata Giri	1975	Former President and trade unionist.
17	Kumaraswamy Kamraj (Posthumous)	1976	Former Tamil Nadu chief minister.
18	Mother Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (Mother Teresa)	1980	Founder of Missionaries of Charity.
19	Vinoba Bhave (Posthumous)	1983	Independence activist and social reformer.
20	Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan	1987	Non-violent independence activist.
21	Marudur Gopalan Ramachandran (Posthumous)	1988	Actor turned politician and leader.
22	Bhim Rao Ramji Ambedkar (Posthumous)	1990	Architect of the Indian Constitution.
23	Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela	1990	Anti-apartheid activist and leader.
24	Rajiv Gandhi (Posthumous)	1991	Former Prime Minister and modernizer.
25	Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (Posthumous)	1991	Iron man of India and unifier.
26	Morarji Ranchhodji Desai	1991	Prime Minister focused on reforms.
27	Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (Posthumous)	1992	Freedom fighter and first Minister of Education.
28	Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhai Tata	1992	Industrialist and business leader.
29	Satyajit Ray	1992	Renowned filmmaker and artist.
30	Gulzari Lal Nanda	1997	Interim Prime Minister of India.
31	Aruna Asaf Ali (Posthumous)	1997	Freedom fighter and Quit India Movement leader.
32	A.P.J. Abdul Kalam	1997	Scientist and President of India.
33	Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi	1998	Carnatic classical vocalist.
34	Chidambaram Subramaniam	1998	Politician and agriculture advocate.
35	Jayaprakash Narayan (Posthumous)	1999	Social reformer and Sarvodaya Movement leader.
36	Amartya Sen	1999	Economist and philosopher.
37	Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi (Posthumous)	1999	First Chief Minister of Assam.
38	Ravi Shankar	1999	Sitar player and composer.
39	Lata Dinanath Mangeshkar	2001	Legendary playback singer.
40	Ustad Bismillah Khan	2001	Hindustani classical shehnai player.
41	Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi	2009	Hindustani classical vocalist.
42	C. N. R. Rao	2014	Pioneering chemist and educator.
43	Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar	2014	Legendary cricketer and records holder.
44	Atal Bihari Vajpayee	2015	Charismatic Prime Minister and statesman.
45	Madan Mohan Malaviya (Posthumous)	2015	Scholar and founder of Banaras Hindu University.
46	Nanaji Deshmukh (Posthumous)	2019	Social activist dedicated to rural development.
47	Bhupendra Kumar Hazarika (Posthumous)	2019	Versatile artist and advocate for social issues.
48	Pranab Mukherjee	2019	Distinguished politician and President of India.
49	Karpoori Thakur (Posthumous)	2024	Politician dedicated to social justice. Politician and former Bihar chief minister
50	Lal Krishna Advani	2024	Politician and Former deputy prime minister
51	Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (Posthumous)	2024	Former Prime Minister of India
52	Chaudhary Charan Singh (Posthumous)	2024	Former Prime Minister of India
53	Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan (Posthumous)	2024	Agriculture scientist

Bharat Ratna Winner 2024 – Full List

Karpoori Thakur, Lal Krishna Advani, Narasimha Rao, Chaudhary Charan Singh, and M.S Swaminathan were conferred with the Bharat Ratna Award in 2024.

Here is the list of Bharat Ratna awardees for the year:

1. Karpoori Thakur (Posthumous) (politician and former Bihar chief minister): Karpoori Thakur, a renowned socialist leader from Bihar and former chief minister of the state, will be honored posthumously with India’s highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna. Fondly known as ‘Jan Nayak’ (people’s leader), Thakur will become the 49th recipient of this prestigious accolade.

2. Lal Krishna Advani (politician and former deputy prime minister): Advani, who has served as the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party for the longest duration since its inception in 1980, has been a prominent figure in Indian politics. Over nearly three decades in parliament, he held key positions such as home minister and deputy prime minister under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee from 1999 to 2004. On February 3, Prime Minister Modi announced that Advani would be conferred with India’s highest civilian honor.

3. Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (Posthumous) (former Prime Minister of India): In honoring Rao, who passed away in 2004, Prime Minister Modi praised his multifaceted service to the nation as a revered scholar and statesman. Modi highlighted Rao’s significant contributions not only as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh but also as a Union minister and longstanding legislator in both the Parliament and the state assembly. Rao, a respected Telugu leader, served a full five-year term as prime minister from 1991 to 1996 and is widely acclaimed for his pivotal role in introducing economic reforms.

4. Chaudhary Charan Singh (Posthumous) (former Prime Minister of India): Singh, a prominent Jat leader from western Uttar Pradesh, served as prime minister during 1979-80 and played a crucial role in leading anti-Congress politics during an era dominated by the Congress Party. Modi expressed gratitude for the opportunity to honor Singh with the Bharat Ratna, acknowledging his unparalleled contributions to the nation.

5. Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan (Posthumous) (agriculture scientist): Prime Minister Modi expressed immense pleasure in the government’s decision to confer the Bharat Ratna upon Swaminathan, recognizing his significant contributions to agriculture and the welfare of farmers. Modi praised Swaminathan’s visionary leadership, which transformed Indian agriculture, ensuring both food security and prosperity for the nation. Modi emphasized his close association with Swaminathan, valuing his wisdom and contributions. The renowned agronomist passed away last year.

Karpoori Thakur is nominated for the Bharat Ratna Award 2024. He is set to posthumously get this highest civilian award after the announcement on his 100th birth anniversary. He was the 11th CM of Bihar and a freedom fighter of India. Karpoori Thakur was born on 24 January 1924 in Pitaunjhia village of Samastipur.

Karpoori Thakur was one of the active participants of Quit India Movement. Karpoori Thakur served as chief minister of Bihar from December 1970 to June 1971 and from December 1977 to April 1979. He died on February 17, 1988.

• Facts related to Karpoori Thakur

First Bharat Ratna Award Winner

The first recipients of the Bharat Ratna were politician C. Rajagopalachari, philosopher Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and scientist C. V. Raman, who were honoured in 1954. It is awarded to people for their exceptional public services and performance in any field of human activity like literature science and art. The Bharat Ratna Award was constituted in 1954.

Till now a total 49 recipients has got this award. Bharat Ratna Award is also recalled as Desh Ratna award. It can be awarded to only three people once in a year.

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Youngest Bharat Ratna Awardee

Famous Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar is the youngest recipient of Bharat Ratna Award. In 2014, Sachin honoured with this award in the age of 40 years. He is the leading run scorer in International Cricket and is popularly known as God of Cricket. Sachin played 664 international cricket matches in total, scoring 34,357 runs. He is the first and the only sportsperson to be honoured with the Bharat Ratna.

Oldest Recipient of Bharat Ratna Award

Dhondo Keshav Karve was the oldest person to receive the Bharat Ratna Award. He was honoured with this award in 1958 in the age of 40 years. Dhondo Karve was the reowned social reformer and activist. He was born on 18 April 1872 in Ratnagiri(Maharashtra). Dhondo Keshav Karve done some of the commandable job in the field of women’s welfare.

First female Bharat Ratna awardee

The first female Bharat Ratna awardee was Indira Gandhi. She is the first woman third Prime Minister of India. She got this award in 1971 due to her role in the 1971 war with Pakistan. Although some controversies arised after she was nominated for this award.

Benefits of Bharat Ratna award

The award given to Bharat Ratna winners are handsome. Below are some of the benefits given to winner of Bharat Ratna award.

• State Guests: Bharat Ratna recipients are considered state guests throughout India.

• Airport Privileges: They receive VIP lounge access and a separate immigration counter at airports.

• Flight Travel: Enjoy free lifetime first-class flight travel on Air India.

• Security: They can receive Z category protection when needed.

• Table of Precedence: Placed at the 7A position in the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Table of Precedence.

• Pension: Receive a pension equivalent to 50% of the Prime Minister’s salary.

• Certificate and Medallion: Awarded a certificate (Sanad) signed by the President of India and a peepal leaf-shaped medallion.

Controversies on Bharat Ratna Award

• Suspensions: The award was suspended twice in history. First, in 1977 when Morarji Desai’s government withdrew all personal civil honors, and it was reinstated in 1980 under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The second suspension occurred in 1992 due to legal challenges, but it was reintroduced by the Supreme Court in 1995 after litigation.

• Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister, awarded himself the Bharat Ratna in 1955, leading to claims of unconstitutional action. President Rajendra Prasad later confessed that it was awarded “unconstitutionally.” Similar claims were made about Indira Gandhi, but President V.V. Giri awarded it to her for her role in the 1971 war with Pakistan.

List of Bharat Ratna Award Winners – FAQs

Who was the first Bharat Ratna award winner?

The first Bharat Ratna awards winners were were politician C. Rajagopalachari, philosopher Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and scientist C. V. Raman, who were honoured in 1954.

Who was the first woman to win the Bharat Ratna award?

The first woman Bharat Ratna awardee was Indira Gandhi. She got this award in 1971 due to her role in the 1971 war with Pakistan.

Who is nominated for Bharat Ratna award in 2024?

Karpoori Thakur, the 11th CM of Bihar is nominated for the Bharat Ratna award in 2024.

Who is the youngest Bharat Ratna Awardee?

Famous Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar is the youngest Bharat Ratna awardee. In 2014, he got honoured with this award in the age of 40 years.

When was the Bharat Ratna Award introduced?

Bharat Ratna award was introduced in the year of 1954 to honour a person for their contribution.

How many Bharat Ratna awards can be given in a year?

Only three Bharat Ratna awards can be given in a year.