Maarg Manthan · Topic 11.13

Awards and Honours Associated with Culture (Padma Awards, Akademi Awards, Dadasaheb Phalke Award)

Art & Culture › Miscellaneous · Topic 11.13

Awards and honours associated with culture in India include the national civilian honours (Bharat Ratna and the Padma Awards, instituted in 1954), the Akademi awards of the Sangeet Natak, Sahitya and Lalit Kala Akademis, and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for cinema, first given in 1969 to Devika Rani. The Padma Awards are Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, announced on the eve of Republic Day. The 2026 list, announced on 25 January 2026, had 131 awards. The Jnanpith Award is a private trust honour for literature, and the Sahitya Akademi Award covers 24 languages.

6 min read · UPSC Prelims · Art & Culture · Miscellaneous

At a Glance

Padma Awards Since 1954; three tiers
Phalke Award Since 1969; first Devika Rani
Sahitya Akademi Award 24 languages, Rs 1 lakh
Padma 2026 131 awards
Jnanpith Bharatiya Jnanpith trust
Exam link UPSC Prelims, Art and Culture: Miscellaneous

Where Does It Fit?

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Which Are the Main Cultural Awards and Who Gives Them?

Award	Started and giver	Key facts
Bharat Ratna	1954, Government of India	Highest civilian honour; not more than three in a year; the latest conferment was the 2024 batch
Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri	1954, Ministry of Home Affairs	Three tiers; at most 120 a year excluding posthumous, NRI and foreign awards; announced on the eve of Republic Day
Sahitya Akademi Award	1954 academy; first awards 1955	For the best book in each of 24 languages; Rs 1 lakh, a shawl and a copper plaque
Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship and Awards	Sangeet Natak Akademi	Akademi Ratna fellowship of Rs 3 lakh and Akademi Puraskar of Rs 1 lakh
Lalit Kala Akademi Fellowship	Lalit Kala Akademi	Honour for eminent artists and art historians
Dadasaheb Phalke Award	1969, Directorate of Film Festivals	Highest award of Indian cinema; first to Devika Rani; Swarna Kamal, Rs 10 lakh and a shawl
National Film Awards	1954, Directorate of Film Festivals	Swarna Kamal and Rajat Kamal medals for feature, non-feature and other categories
Jnanpith Award	1965, Bharatiya Jnanpith trust	Highest literary award; first to G. Sankara Kurup (Malayalam); Rs 11 lakh and a statue of Vagdevi

What Are the Latest Recipients and Rules of the Padma and Other Awards?

Padma 2026: announced on 25 January 2026 with 131 awards: 5 Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri, including 16 posthumous awards
Padma Vibhushan 2026: Dharmendra and V. S. Achuthanandan (both posthumous), K. T. Thomas, N. Rajam and P. Narayanan
Selection: nominations go to a Padma Awards Committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary, and the Prime Minister and President approve
Constitution: Article 18 bans titles, but the Supreme Court in the Balaji Raghavan case of 1996 held that Bharat Ratna and Padma awards are not titles and must not be used as prefix or suffix
Dadasaheb Phalke Award: Mohanlal was announced for the award for 2023 and received it at the 71st National Film Awards in 2025, and the actor Anant Nag was announced in September 2026 as the recipient for 2024
Sahitya Akademi Award 2025: announced on 16 March 2026 for 24 languages, with Navtej Sarna (English, for Crimson Spring) and Mamta Kalia (Hindi, for Jeete Jee Allahabad) among the winners
Sangeet Natak Akademi: the Fellowship and Awards for 2024 and 2025 were announced in June 2026, with seven Fellows (Akademi Ratna), 108 Akademi Award winners and 106 Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar winners, and were presented by the President in August 2026
Jnanpith: Vinod Kumar Shukla (Hindi) was the 59th laureate, and R. Vairamuthu (Tamil) is the 60th laureate, for 2025, announced in March 2026
National Film Awards: the 72nd National Film Awards, for films of 2024, were announced on 18 July 2026, with Article 370 as Best Feature Film, Kartik Aaryan and Mammootty sharing Best Actor and Yami Gautam as Best Actress

What Else Should You Remember?

Bharat Ratna 2024: five honours were announced in 2024, namely Karpoori Thakur, L. K. Advani, P. V. Narasimha Rao, Charan Singh and M. S. Swaminathan, and no later batch has been announced as of November 2026
Padma classes: Padma Vibhushan is for exceptional and distinguished service, Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of a high order, and Padma Shri for distinguished service
Fields: art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports and civil service
Sahitya Akademi Fellowship: the highest honour of the Akademi, limited to living writers
Bhasha Samman: given by the Sahitya Akademi for contributions to classical and medieval literature
Other cultural honours: the Sangeet Natak Akademi also gives the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar to young artists
State awards: states have their own honours, such as the Kalidas Samman of Madhya Pradesh and the Tansen Samman
International: the Gandhi Peace Prize and the UNESCO prizes are separate honours
Criticism: selection is sometimes seen as political, and calls for transparency and public nominations have grown
Link: the bodies giving these awards are covered in Government Cultural Institutions in India (Sangeet Natak Akademi, Lalit Kala Akademi, Sahitya Akademi, ASI, INTACH)
Film link: see the film awards in Classification of Indian Cinema Film (National Film Awards)

Why Does It Matter for the Exam?

Start years: 1954 for Bharat Ratna and Padma, 1969 for the Phalke Award, 1965 for Jnanpith
Giver: which body gives which award
First recipients: Devika Rani for Phalke and G. Sankara Kurup for Jnanpith
Rules: 120 a year for Padma, and the Balaji Raghavan judgment
Current: latest Padma, Phalke, Jnanpith and Sahitya Akademi recipients

As an analytical point, cultural awards shape which arts and languages gain visibility. Greater transparency, wider regional and folk representation and public nomination can strengthen their credibility.

Why Is This Topic Important?

Facts Years and givers
Law Article 18
Current Latest recipients

What Came Next?

The next topic covers International Yoga Day. Next topic: International Yoga Day.

Key People and Terms

Civilian honour Award for non-military service
Akademi Ratna SNA fellowship
Swarna Kamal Golden Lotus medal
Posthumous Given after death
Fellowship Highest academy honour
Laureate Award winner

Exam Corner

Points to Remember

Padma and Bharat Ratna: 1954.
Phalke Award: 1969, Devika Rani.
Jnanpith: 1965, G. Sankara Kurup.
Padma 2026: 131 (as reported).
Sahitya Akademi: 24 languages.

Do Not Confuse With

Sahitya Akademi and Jnanpith Government academy versus private trust
Padma Shri and Bharat Ratna Third tier versus highest honour
Phalke Award and National Film Awards Lifetime honour versus annual film awards

Memory Hook

Fifty-four for Padma, sixty-nine for Phalke, Jnanpith sixty-five.

Mains Angle

Questions ask whether awards are fair and how they help the arts. These points give a frame.

Transparency Open nominations
Reach Folk and regional artists
Impact Support for livelihood

A Question You May Face

An original practice question, not a past paper question.

“Examine the role of national awards in promoting art, literature and cinema in India and suggest ways to improve their credibility.”

How to Answer

Awards Padma, Akademi, Phalke.
Role Recognition and funds.
Issues Politics, access.
Way Transparency and breadth.

GS Relevance

Prelims: instituting year, body, number, latest recipients of cultural awards. GS Paper 1: Indian heritage and culture; GS Paper 2: Article 18 and civilian honours.

Frequently Asked Questions

When were the Padma Awards instituted?

The Padma Awards and the Bharat Ratna were instituted in 1954. The Padma Awards have three tiers, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. They are announced around Republic Day, and not more than 120 are normally given in a year, excluding posthumous, foreign and NRI awards.

How many Padma Awards were announced in 2026?

The Padma Awards 2026 were announced on 25 January 2026 with 131 awards: 5 Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri. The list names Dharmendra and V. S. Achuthanandan among the posthumous Padma Vibhushan awardees, but the official list should be checked.

Who gets the Dadasaheb Phalke Award and who was the first recipient?

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is the highest honour of Indian cinema, given by the Directorate of Film Festivals since 1969. Devika Rani was the first recipient. Mohanlal received the award at the 71st National Film Awards, and the actor Anant Nag was announced in September 2026 as the recipient for 2024.

How many languages does the Sahitya Akademi Award cover?

The Sahitya Akademi Award is given for the best book in each of 24 languages, which are the 22 scheduled languages along with English and Rajasthani. Each winner receives Rs 1 lakh, a shawl and a copper plaque, and the 2025 awards were announced on 16 March 2026.

What is the latest status of the Bharat Ratna?

The latest Bharat Ratna honours confirmed were the five announced in 2024, for Karpoori Thakur, L. K. Advani, P. V. Narasimha Rao, Charan Singh and M. S. Swaminathan. No later batch could be confirmed as of November 2026. The award began in 1954 and has a limit of three in a year.

PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis

1 Devika Rani was the first recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.

True

The award began in 1969.

2 The Jnanpith Award is given by the Government of India.

False

It is given by the Bharatiya Jnanpith trust.

3 The Padma Awards were instituted in 1954.