The Bharat Ratna

The Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award in India. The award is conferred to those with exceptional achievements in any field of human endeavour. Bharat Ratna awardees are ranked seventh in the Indian order of precedence. The inaugural recipients of the award were, the last Governor General of India - C Rajagopalachari, second President of India - Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and the Nobel laureate and physicist C V Raman. Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri are also civilian awards recognised by the Government of India.