Books, Authors & Awards — Literary & Academic Recognition

Why This Chapter Matters

Sports and awards questions show up in almost every SSC CGL Tier 1 paper, usually two to four marks, and they are some of the cheapest marks in the whole General Awareness section because the facts are finite and repeat year after year. CHSL, CPO, MTS and the railway exams lean on the same pool: who won the Khel Ratna this year, where the last Olympics was held, which Indian holds a particular record, who received the Bharat Ratna. Once you have memorised the core lists in this chapter, you can answer these questions in under ten seconds each, which matters when the clock is your real opponent.

The single biggest mistake aspirants make here is mixing up award categories: confusing the Khel Ratna (the highest sporting honour) with the Arjuna Award (recognition for consistent excellence), or assuming the Dronacharya Award goes to players when it actually goes to coaches. Another common trap is mixing up Olympic host cities and years, especially when two Olympics get renamed after postponement, as happened with Tokyo. Read every name and number in this chapter twice, and pin the awards hierarchy first, because everything else in this chapter hangs off it.

1. Major International Sporting Events

The Olympic Games

The modern Olympic Games began in 1896 in Athens, revived by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a French educator who wanted a global event built on the ancient Greek games held at Olympia. The Games run every four years, alternating between the Summer and Winter editions (each also on a four-year cycle, offset by two years from the other). The International Olympic Committee (IOC), headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, governs the movement, and the five interlocking rings on the Olympic flag represent the union of the five inhabited continents, not any specific five countries.

Recent Summer Olympics for quick recall: 2016 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil, first Olympics in South America), 2020 Tokyo (held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but retained the "Tokyo 2020" name), 2024 Paris, and 2028 Los Angeles is the confirmed upcoming host. The Winter Olympics went to Beijing in 2022, making Beijing the first city to host both a Summer (2008) and a Winter Olympics.

Exam trap: Tokyo 2020 actually took place in 2021. Papers sometimes test whether you know the Games kept the original numbered name despite the delay. Do not assume the "2020" in the title tells you the actual year it happened.

Memory hook: Think of the Olympic rings as a relay baton passed through history — Athens started it (1896), and each Games since has been a new leg of the same race.

Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games bring together athletes from nations that were once part of the British Empire, now organised under the Commonwealth of Nations. They are held every four years. Recent editions: 2018 Gold Coast (Australia), 2022 Birmingham (England), and 2026 Glasgow (Scotland) is scheduled next, after Victoria (Australia) withdrew as host due to cost concerns. India has historically performed strongly here, especially in wrestling, shooting, weightlifting and badminton, because the competition field is narrower than the Olympics.

Asian Games

The Asian Games, run by the Olympic Council of Asia, are also held every four years and function as Asia's own mini-Olympics. The 2018 Asian Games were held in Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia, and the 2022 Asian Games were awarded to Hangzhou, China, but got postponed to 2023 because of COVID-19, similar to what happened with Tokyo. The next edition heads to Nagoya, Japan in 2026. India's best-ever medal haul at a single Asian Games came at Hangzhou 2023, crossing 100 medals for the first time.

Exam trap: Just like Tokyo 2020, the Hangzhou Asian Games retained the "2022" branding even though it was actually held in 2023. Two separate events, same trick, so do not let the branding fool you on either.

Cricket World Cups

The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup began in 1975 in England, and the West Indies won the first two editions (1975 and 1979). India first won it in 1983, defeating the West Indies at Lord's under Kapil Dev's captaincy, a result still considered one of the greatest upsets in cricket history. India won it again in 2011, hosting the tournament alongside Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, with MS Dhoni hitting the winning six. The most recent edition, the 2023 World Cup, was held entirely in India, and Australia beat India in the final at Ahmedabad. The Women's Cricket World Cup follows a similar four-year cycle, and India has reached the final twice (2005 and 2017) without winning yet as of the most recent editions.

The T20 World Cup is a separate, shorter-format tournament. India won the inaugural edition in 2007 under MS Dhoni, and won again in 2024, held jointly in the USA and West Indies, defeating South Africa in the final under Rohit Sharma's captaincy.

Football World Cup

FIFA's men's World Cup began in 1930 in Uruguay, which also won that first edition. Brazil holds the record for most titles (five), followed by Germany and Italy with four each. The most recent editions: 2018 Russia (won by France), 2022 Qatar (won by Argentina, Lionel Messi's first World Cup title), and 2026 will be jointly hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico, the first three-nation hosting arrangement.

2. National Sports Awards of India

India's sporting honours form a clear pyramid, and understanding the hierarchy prevents most confusion in the exam hall.

At the top sits the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, India's highest sporting honour, given for the most outstanding performance in a four-year period. It was originally called the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna when instituted in 1991-92, and was renamed in 2021 to honour Major Dhyan Chand, the legendary hockey player often called "The Wizard" for his stick control, who helped India win Olympic hockey gold three times (1928, 1932, 1936).

Below that sits the Arjuna Award, instituted in 1961, given for consistent outstanding performance over four years across recognised sporting disciplines, including some indigenous and para-sports categories.

For coaches, India gives the Dronacharya Award, instituted in 1985, named after Dronacharya, the master teacher of archery from the Mahabharata who trained both the Pandavas and Kauravas. This award specifically honours coaches who have produced medal-winning athletes, not the athletes themselves.

Exam trap: Students frequently write "Dronacharya Award" when a question actually describes a player's achievement, or vice versa. Lock this in: Khel Ratna and Arjuna go to players and sportspersons; Dronacharya goes to coaches only.

Two more categories round out the system. The Dhyan Chand Award (a separate award from the Khel Ratna, confusingly similar in name) recognises lifetime contribution to sport, typically for veterans whose playing careers have ended but who continued serving the sport. The Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar recognises corporate entities, sports promotion boards and organisations that have contributed to the development of sport in India, rather than individuals.

Memory hook: Picture a classroom of sport: the Khel Ratna is the gold medal student, the Arjuna Award students are the consistently good performers, Dronacharya is the teacher who trains them (literally named after a teacher), and the Dhyan Chand Award is for the alumnus who still visits and mentors after graduating.

Notable recent Khel Ratna recipients

Recent recipients include chess grandmaster D. Gukesh, badminton star P.V. Sindhu (2020), wrestler Bajrang Punia (2019), and cricketer Rohit Sharma (2020). Because this list updates every year, focus your memory on understanding the award's purpose and history rather than trying to memorise every year's winner, since exam-setters usually test recent, well-publicised names rather than obscure years.

3. Notable Indian Achievements in Global Sport

India's Olympic medal history is short but meaningful to know cold. Norman Pritchard won India's first Olympic medals (two silvers in athletics) at the 1900 Paris Olympics, though his nationality is sometimes debated since India was under British rule. In the modern era, Abhinav Bindra became the first Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal, in 10m air rifle shooting at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Wrestler Sushil Kumar is the only Indian to win two individual Olympic medals (bronze in 2008, silver in 2012). Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, India's first-ever Olympic gold in athletics, and followed it with a silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics. India's field hockey team, dominant in the pre-independence and early independence decades, won its eighth Olympic gold in 1980 at Moscow, and ended a 41-year wait by winning bronze at Tokyo 2020, repeating bronze at Paris 2024.

In badminton, Saina Nehwal became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal in badminton, a bronze at London 2012, and P.V. Sindhu became the first Indian woman to win two Olympic medals (silver at Rio 2016, bronze at Tokyo 2020).

Exam trap: Abhinav Bindra's gold is specifically the first individual gold. India had won gold earlier as a team, in hockey. Questions sometimes hinge precisely on this "individual" qualifier.

4. Padma Awards

The Padma Awards are India's civilian honours, announced every year around Republic Day, and they are structured in three tiers based on the level of distinguished service, not the field itself:

• Padma Vibhushan — exceptional and distinguished service, the highest of the three Padma awards
• Padma Bhushan — distinguished service of a high order
• Padma Shri — distinguished service in any field

These awards are given across fields such as art, social work, public affairs, science, engineering, trade, medicine, literature, civil service and sport. They are announced by the Government of India and conferred by the President, typically at ceremonies held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. A committee constituted by the Prime Minister recommends names, and the awards are non-hereditary; they cannot be used as prefixes or suffixes to a recipient's name (you cannot legally call yourself "Padma Shri So-and-so" as a title).

Memory hook: Think of a three-storey building called Padma Bhavan: Vibhushan is the top floor (exceptional), Bhushan the middle floor (distinguished), Shri the ground floor (still distinguished, still an honour, just the entry point of national recognition).

5. Bharat Ratna

The Bharat Ratna is India's highest civilian award, instituted in 1954, given for exceptional service towards advancement of art, literature, science, or public service of the highest order, with no rigid caps on categories. It is not necessarily awarded every year, and at most a handful of names are conferred in any given year based on merit rather than quota.

The first three recipients in 1954 were C. Rajagopalachari, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (who later became President and whose birthday, September 5, is celebrated as Teachers' Day), and C.V. Raman, the physicist. Bhagwan Das was also honoured that year. Notable later recipients include Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (1990), Mother Teresa (1980), Sachin Tendulkar (2014, the youngest-ever recipient and the first sportsperson to receive it), Atal Bihari Vajpayee (2015), and Bharat Ratna Karpoori Thakur, M.S. Swaminathan, Chaudhary Charan Singh, P.V. Narasimha Rao and L.K. Advani, all honoured in 2024.

Exam trap: Sachin Tendulkar is often tested as "first sportsperson to receive Bharat Ratna" — accurate, but do not confuse this with the Khel Ratna, which is a different award entirely and was around decades before he received the Bharat Ratna. A cricketer can win Khel Ratna-equivalent recognition through BCCI or other means, but the actual Rajiv Gandhi/Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna long predates his Bharat Ratna.

The Bharat Ratna was briefly discontinued between 1977 and 1980 by the Janata government on the grounds that state awards should not be personal to any one leader's discretion, then reinstated. It can also be awarded posthumously, unlike some other honours; Subhas Chandra Bose was announced as a posthumous recipient in 1992 but the award was later withdrawn following a court case, since posthumous conferral is subject to unresolved questions when the person's death is not conclusively documented.

6. Nobel Prizes and Indian Laureates

The Nobel Prizes were instituted under the will of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor of dynamite, and have been awarded since 1901 in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace. A sixth prize, the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences (commonly called the Nobel Prize in Economics), was added later, in 1968, and is technically not one of the original five, though it is awarded alongside them each December in Stockholm. The Nobel Peace Prize alone is awarded in Oslo, Norway, while the other prizes are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, following Alfred Nobel's original instructions.

India's Nobel connections deserve careful separation into two groups: laureates who were Indian citizens at the time of the award, and people of Indian origin or birth who won as citizens of another country.

Indian citizens who won:

• Rabindranath Tagore — Literature, 1913, the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize, honoured for Gitanjali
• C.V. Raman — Physics, 1930, for the discovery of the "Raman Effect" concerning the scattering of light
• Mother Teresa — Peace, 1979, for her work with the poor in Kolkata (she was an Indian citizen by naturalisation)
• Amartya Sen — Economic Sciences, 1998, for contributions to welfare economics
• Kailash Satyarthi — Peace, 2014, for work against child labour

People of Indian origin who won as citizens of other countries:

• Har Gobind Khorana — Physiology or Medicine, 1968, as a naturalised US citizen
• Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar — Physics, 1983, as a US citizen, nephew of C.V. Raman
• Venkatraman Ramakrishnan — Chemistry, 2009, as a UK/US citizen
• Abhijit Banerjee — Economic Sciences, 2019, as a US citizen

Exam trap: This citizenship distinction is one of the most commonly tested traps in the entire chapter. Chandrasekhar is frequently miscategorised as "Indian" simply because of his name and family connection to C.V. Raman, but he won as a US citizen. Read the exact wording of the question; if it asks "Nobel laureates who were Indian citizens," Chandrasekhar and Khorana do not qualify.

Memory hook: Group the citizens-of-India winners with the phrase "Tagore Raman Teresa Sen Satyarthi" — say it like a chant, five names, five categories roughly in chronological order (Literature, Physics, Peace, Economics, Peace again).

7. Structure and Trivia Around Major Awards

A useful cross-cutting fact: the Ramon Magsaysay Award, often called "Asia's Nobel Prize," is a private award given by a Manila-based foundation named after a former Philippine president, and several Indians have received it, including Kiran Bedi, Arvind Kejriwal, and journalist Ravish Kumar. It is not a government award and should not be confused with any Indian civilian honour.

The Jnanpith Award is India's highest literary honour, given annually for outstanding contribution to Indian literature written in any of the languages recognised by the Constitution's Eighth Schedule. Malayalam writer G. Sankara Kurup was the first recipient, in 1965.

Exam trap: Do not confuse the Jnanpith Award (a literary honour funded by a private trust, the Bharatiya Jnanpith) with the Sahitya Akademi Award (a government literary honour given annually by the Sahitya Akademi, India's national academy of letters, for individual books rather than lifetime achievement).

Quick Revision — One-Line Facts

• Modern Olympics began in 1896 in Athens, revived by Pierre de Coubertin.
• IOC headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland.
• Tokyo Olympics branded "2020" actually held in 2021; Hangzhou Asian Games branded "2022" actually held in 2023.
• 2024 Summer Olympics: Paris; 2028: Los Angeles.
• 2022 Winter Olympics: Beijing, first city to host both Summer and Winter Games.
• Commonwealth Games 2026 host: Glasgow.
• Asian Games 2026 host: Nagoya, Japan.
• India won the Cricket World Cup in 1983 (Kapil Dev) and 2011 (MS Dhoni).
• India won the T20 World Cup in 2007 and 2024.
• FIFA World Cup 2026 will be jointly hosted by USA, Canada, and Mexico.
• Brazil holds the record for most FIFA World Cup titles (five).
• India's highest sporting honour: Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, renamed from Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2021.
• Arjuna Award instituted 1961, for consistent excellence over four years.
• Dronacharya Award instituted 1985, honours coaches, named after the Mahabharata's master teacher.
• Dhyan Chand Award honours lifetime contribution, separate from the Khel Ratna despite the shared name.
• Major Dhyan Chand was a hockey player, part of three Olympic gold-winning Indian teams (1928, 1932, 1936).
• Abhinav Bindra became first Indian individual Olympic gold medallist, 2008 Beijing, shooting.
• Neeraj Chopra won India's first Olympic gold in athletics, 2020 Tokyo Olympics (javelin throw).
• Sushil Kumar is the only Indian with two individual Olympic medals (2008 bronze, 2012 silver, wrestling).
• P.V. Sindhu is the only Indian woman with two Olympic medals (2016 silver, 2020 bronze, badminton).
• Padma Awards have three tiers: Padma Vibhushan > Padma Bhushan > Padma Shri.
• Padma Awards are announced around Republic Day and cannot be used as name prefixes/suffixes.
• Bharat Ratna instituted 1954; first recipients: C. Rajagopalachari, S. Radhakrishnan, C.V. Raman, Bhagwan Das.
• Sachin Tendulkar (2014) is the youngest Bharat Ratna recipient and first sportsperson to receive it.
• Bharat Ratna was discontinued 1977-1980, later reinstated.
• Nobel Prizes awarded since 1901; Peace Prize given in Oslo, others in Stockholm.
• Rabindranath Tagore (Literature, 1913) was the first non-European Nobel laureate.
• C.V. Raman (Physics, 1930) won for the "Raman Effect."
• Kailash Satyarthi (Peace, 2014) won for work against child labour.
• Chandrasekhar, Khorana, Ramakrishnan, Banerjee won as citizens of other countries, not India.
• Jnanpith Award is India's highest literary honour, privately funded by the Bharatiya Jnanpith trust.
• Sahitya Akademi Award is a government literary award for individual works, distinct from the Jnanpith.
• Ramon Magsaysay Award is called "Asia's Nobel Prize," awarded by a Manila-based private foundation.

Memory Tables

Table 1: India's National Sports Awards Hierarchy

Award	Instituted	Given For	Recipient Type
Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna	1991-92 (renamed 2021)	Most outstanding performance, 4-year period	Sportspersons
Arjuna Award	1961	Consistent excellence, 4-year period	Sportspersons
Dronacharya Award	1985	Producing medal-winning athletes	Coaches
Dhyan Chand Award	2002	Lifetime contribution to sport	Retired sportspersons
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar	2009	Promotion and development of sport	Organisations/corporates

Table 2: Indian Nobel Laureates (Citizenship at Time of Award)

Laureate	Field	Year	Note
Rabindranath Tagore	Literature	1913	First non-European Nobel winner
C.V. Raman	Physics	1930	Raman Effect
Mother Teresa	Peace	1979	Naturalised Indian citizen
Amartya Sen	Economic Sciences	1998	Welfare economics
Kailash Satyarthi	Peace	2014	Anti-child-labour work
Chandrasekhar, Khorana, Ramakrishnan, Banerjee	Various	Various	Indian-origin, won as foreign citizens

Table 3: Major Sporting Events at a Glance

Event	Frequency	Governing Body	Recent/Upcoming Host
Summer Olympics	4 years	IOC	2024 Paris, 2028 Los Angeles
Winter Olympics	4 years (offset by 2)	IOC	2022 Beijing, 2026 Milan-Cortina
Commonwealth Games	4 years	Commonwealth Sport	2026 Glasgow
Asian Games	4 years	Olympic Council of Asia	2026 Nagoya
Cricket World Cup (ODI)	4 years	ICC	2023 India (won by Australia)
T20 World Cup	2 years	ICC	2024 USA/West Indies (won by India)
FIFA World Cup	4 years	FIFA	2026 USA/Canada/Mexico

Practice MCQs

Q1. Who is credited with reviving the modern Olympic Games in 1896? (a) Juan Antonio Samaranch (b) Pierre de Coubertin (c) Thomas Bach (d) Avery Brundage

Q2. The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award was originally known by which name before its 2021 renaming? (a) Arjuna Khel Ratna (b) Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (c) Indira Gandhi Khel Ratna (d) National Khel Ratna

Q3. Which award specifically honours coaches who have trained medal-winning Indian athletes? (a) Arjuna Award (b) Khel Ratna Award (c) Dronacharya Award (d) Dhyan Chand Award

Q4. Who became the first Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal? (a) Neeraj Chopra (b) Abhinav Bindra (c) Sushil Kumar (d) Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

Q5. Neeraj Chopra won India's first-ever Olympic gold medal in athletics at which edition of the Games? (a) Rio 2016 (b) Tokyo 2020 (c) Paris 2024 (d) London 2012

Q6. How many tiers does the Padma Awards system have? (a) Two (b) Three (c) Four (d) Five

Q7. Who was the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize? (a) C.V. Raman (b) Mother Teresa (c) Rabindranath Tagore (d) Amartya Sen

Q8. In which year was the Bharat Ratna instituted? (a) 1947 (b) 1950 (c) 1954 (d) 1961

Q9. Which cricketer became the first sportsperson to receive the Bharat Ratna? (a) Kapil Dev (b) Sachin Tendulkar (c) MS Dhoni (d) Sunil Gavaskar

Q10. The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be jointly hosted by which countries? (a) Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay (b) USA, Canada, Mexico (c) Germany, France, Spain (d) Japan, South Korea, China

Q11. S. Chandrasekhar won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983 as a citizen of which country? (a) India (b) United Kingdom (c) United States (d) Canada

Q12. Which Indian institution/trust confers the Jnanpith Award, India's highest literary honour? (a) Sahitya Akademi (b) Ministry of Culture (c) Bharatiya Jnanpith, a private trust (d) UGC

Q13. The Nobel Peace Prize, unlike the other Nobel Prizes, is awarded in which city? (a) Stockholm (b) Geneva (c) Oslo (d) The Hague

Q14. Major Dhyan Chand, after whom India's highest sporting honour is named, represented India in which sport and won Olympic gold how many times? (a) Cricket, twice (b) Hockey, three times (c) Wrestling, once (d) Boxing, twice

Q15. Which of the following statements about the Tokyo Olympics is correct? (a) It was held in 2020 as scheduled (b) It was branded "Tokyo 2020" but actually held in 2021 (c) It was cancelled entirely (d) It was moved to Osaka

Answer Key

Q	Answer	Reason
1	(b)	Pierre de Coubertin, a French educator, revived the modern Olympics in 1896 in Athens.
2	(b)	It was called the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna before being renamed after Major Dhyan Chand in 2021.
3	(c)	The Dronacharya Award, named after the Mahabharata's master teacher, honours coaches specifically.
4	(b)	Abhinav Bindra won gold in 10m air rifle shooting at Beijing 2008, India's first individual gold.
5	(b)	Neeraj Chopra's javelin gold came at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (held in 2021).
6	(b)	The Padma Awards have three tiers: Vibhushan, Bhushan, and Shri.
7	(c)	Rabindranath Tagore won the Literature Nobel in 1913, the first non-European laureate.
8	(c)	The Bharat Ratna was instituted in 1954, with C. Rajagopalachari among the first recipients.
9	(b)	Sachin Tendulkar received the Bharat Ratna in 2014, the first sportsperson so honoured.
10	(b)	The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be jointly hosted by USA, Canada, and Mexico, a first for three nations.
11	(c)	Chandrasekhar won as a naturalised US citizen, a key exam trap distinguishing origin from citizenship.
12	(c)	The Jnanpith Award is funded and given by the Bharatiya Jnanpith, a private trust, not the government.
13	(c)	Alfred Nobel's will specified the Peace Prize be awarded in Oslo, Norway, unlike the Stockholm-based prizes.
14	(b)	Dhyan Chand played hockey and was part of India's gold-winning teams in 1928, 1932, and 1936.
15	(b)	Tokyo 2020 kept its original name despite being postponed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.