Eminent personalities
The Bharat Ratna is India’s highest civilian honour. It is conferred on eminent personalities as a token of appreciation to their remarkable contributions in their field of work.
Instituted on January 2, 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of “exceptional service/performance of the highest order”, without distinction of race, occupation, position or gender. Initially, the award was limited to achievements in the arts, literature, science, and public services. But, in December 2011, the Government of India expanded the criteria to include “any field of human endeavour”.
This year, for the first time, five people were awarded the Bharat Ratna. The most number of awardees in one year until now was in 1999, when there were four. Do you know this year’s winners?