• Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that BJP stalwart and former deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani will be conferred the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award.

• Last week, the government had named the late Karpoori Thakur, a socialist stalwart and former Bihar Chief Minister, for the highest honour.

• Advani is being conferred with the award in the year Ayodhya Ram Mandir was realised. The BJP leader is credited with conducting the Rath Yatra campaign for the construction of the temple in the early 1990s. 

• Advani became the 50th person to attain the honour.

Bharat Ratna

• Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of the country. 

• It is awarded in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour. 

• It is treated on a different footing from Padma Awards. 

• The recommendations for Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister to the President. 

• No formal recommendations for Bharat Ratna are necessary. 

• The number of Bharat Ratna Awards is restricted to a maximum of three in a particular year.

• On conferment of the award, the recipient receives a certificate signed by the President and a medallion. The award does not carry any monetary grant.

• In terms of Article 18 (1) of the Constitution, the award cannot be used as a prefix or suffix to the recipient's name.

• Dr.S. Radhakrishnan, C. Rajagopalachari and C.V. Raman were the first recipients of Bharat Ratna when it was instituted in 1954.

• There is no written provision that Bharat Ratna should be awarded to Indian citizens only. 

• Bharat Ratna was awarded to a naturalised Indian citizen Mother Teresa in 1980 and two non-Indians — Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan in 1987 and Nelson Mandela in 1990.

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