Awards are official recognitions given to individuals for exceptional service, bravery, or achievements. In India, awards are classified into four main categories: Civilian Honours (like Bharat Ratna), Military Decorations (like Param Veer Chakra), Sports Awards (like Khel Ratna), and International Awards (like Nobel Prize)
💡KEY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM
Indian civilian awards follow a hierarchy - Bharat Ratna (highest), followed by Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri. Military awards also have hierarchy - Param Veer Chakra (highest gallantry), Maha Veer Chakra, and Veer Chakra for wartime; Ashoka Chakra (highest peacetime), Kirti Chakra, and Shaurya Chakra for peacetime bravery.
Identify award category - Param Veer Chakra contains 'Veer' (brave)
2
Apply military award logic - 'Param' means highest
3
Connect to service type - Military gallantry award
4
Specify condition - Highest gallantry award for wartime bravery
5
Answer - Exceptional acts of valor during wartime
SHORTCUT TRICK 3 - NOBEL PRIZE MEMORY: Remember '6 CATEGORIES' - Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, Peace, Economics. Economics was added later in 1968
→Indians who won
Raman (Physics), Har Gobind Khorana (Medicine), Mother Teresa (Peace), Amartya Sen (Economics), Kailash Satyarthi (Peace)
⚠️#1 MOST COMMON TRAP
Students confuse between gallantry awards and peacetime bravery awards. Remember - Param Veer Chakra, Maha Veer Chakra, Veer Chakra are for WARTIME only. Ashoka Chakra, Kirti Chakra, Shaurya Chakra are for PEACETIME bravery. Many questions specifically test this distinction
⚠️ANOTHER FREQUENT ERROR
Mixing up award amounts and maximum numbers. Bharat Ratna has no monetary reward but limited to 3 per year. Sports awards have specific cash prizes that get updated - always check recent notifications
📋EXAM SUCCESS STRATEGY
Focus on recent 2-3 years' winners, learn award hierarchies using memory tricks, and practice distinguishing between similar-sounding awards. Create a timeline chart of major award winners to visualize patterns.
Which Indian cricketer won the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup as captain?
Practice 2easy
Who was the first Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal?
Practice 3easy
Which country hosted the 2020 Summer Olympics (held in 2021)?
Practice 4easy
The Padma Shri award is given for contributions in which of the following categories?
Practice 5easy
Which prestigious award is given annually by the Government of India to recognize exceptional service in any field, and is the second-highest civilian honour after Bharat Ratna?
Practice 6easy
In which year was the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, first instituted?
Practice 7easy
Which Indian cricketer received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award (now Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award) in 1997-98?
Practice 8easy
Which Indian cricketer was the first to receive the Bharat Ratna award?
Practice 9medium
Which Indian athlete won the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award (now Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award) in 2021?
Practice 10medium
In which year did India host the Asian Games, and how many gold medals did India win at that edition?
Practice 11medium
Who was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2023 for contributions to Indian cinema?
Practice 12medium
In which year did India win the most medals at the Commonwealth Games, and what was the total medal count?
Practice 13medium
Which Indian sportsperson won the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award (now Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award) in 2021?
Practice 14medium
In which year was the Bharat Ratna awarded to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar?
Practice 15medium
Which country hosted the 2022 Commonwealth Games?
Practice 16medium
Who won the Padma Shri award in 2023 in the field of Sports?
Practice 17medium
In which year was the Bharat Ratna awarded to Sachin Tendulkar?
Practice 18medium
Which Indian state has won the Santosh Trophy (National Football Championship) the maximum number of times?
Practice 19medium
Which Indian sportsperson won the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award (now Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award) in 2021?
Practice 20hard
Which Indian athlete won the gold medal in the women's 400m hurdles at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham?
7 more practice questions in the Study Panel
Difficulty-graded, bookmarkable, with timed mode. Free account — no credit card.