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Bharat Ratna and other
national honours and awards are presented on the Republic
Day in recognition of exceptional and distinguished services
of high order in any field.
From 1993 to 1996, the country's highest civilian awards
such as Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and
Padma Shri were not presented on the Republic Day.
The decision not to present the civilian awards in 1994 was
taken in view of the petitions pending in various courts
questioning the advisability of conferring of such awards
and the Supreme Court's stay proceedings on those petitions.
These awards were restored by the Supreme Court in December
1995.
Bharat Ratna : The award is given for exceptional
work for the advancement of art, literature and science, and
in recognition of public service of the highest order.
The decoration is in the form of a peepal leaf, about 5.8 cm
long, 4.7 cm wide and 3.1 mm thick. It is of toned bronze.
On its obverse is embossed a replica of the sun, 1.6 cm in
diameter, below which the words ''Bharat Ratna" are embossed
in Hindi. On the reverse are State emblem and the motto,
also in Hindi. The emblem, the sun and the rim are of
platinum. The inscriptions are in burnished bronze.
The first three recipients of Bharat Ratna were Dr. S.
Radhakrishnan, C. Rajagopalachari and Dr. C. V: Raman in
1954, while Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was the first- foreigner
to be honoured with this award in 1987.
Padma Vibhushan : The award is given for exceptional
and distinguished service in any field including service
rendered by government servants.
The decoration is circular in design, with a geometrical
pattern superimposed on the circle. The diameter of the
circular portion is 4.4 cm and the thickness is about 0.6
mm. On the obverse, there is a lotus flower embossed on the
circular space. The word "Padma" is embossed in Hindi above
and the word "Vibhushan" below the lotus flower. On the
reverse are the State emblem and the motto in Hindi. It is
of toned bronze. The inscription "Padma Vibhushan" on the
obverse, the geometrical pattern on either side and the
border around periphery are in burnished bronze. All
embossing on either side of decoration is in white gold.
Padma Bhushan : The award is given for distinguished
service of a high order in any field, including the service
rendered by government servants.
It has the same design as the "Padma Vibhushan". On its
obverse, the word "Padma" appears above and the word "Bhushan"
below the lotus flower. The inscription "Padma Bhushan" on
the obverse, the geometrical pattern on either side and the
border around periphery are in burnished bronze. All
embossing on either side of the decoration is in standard
gold.
Padma Shri : The award is given for distinguished
service in any field including the service rendered by
government servants.
The name of the decoration is embossed in Hindi with the
word "Padma" above and the word "Shri" below the lotus
flower. The inscription "Padma Shri" on the obverse, the
geometrical pattern on either side and the border around the
periphery are in burnished bronze. All embossing on either
side of the decoration is in stainless steel.
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