Arjuna award – Instituted in 1961 to honour the outstanding sportspersons

 

Instituted in 1961 to honour the outstanding sportspersons of India, the award is one of the most prestigious sporting honour.

The award is named after Arjuna, one of the characters of the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata of ancient India. He is considered one of the greatest warriors of ancient India.

It is awarded annually by the Union Sports Ministry. Before the introduction of the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, earlier known as Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, in 1991–1992, the Arjuna award was the highest sporting honour of India.

The award comprises a bronze statuette of Arjuna, citation and a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh.

Instituted in 1961 to honour the outstanding sportspersons of the country, the award over the years has undergone a number of expansions, reviews and rationalizations. The award was expanded to include all the recognised disciplines in 1977,introduced indigenous games and physically handicapped categories in 1995 and introduced a lifetime contribution category in 1995 leading to creation of a separate Dhyan Chand Award in 2002. The latest revision in 2018 stipulates that the award is given only to the disciplines included in the events like Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championship and World Cup along with Cricket, Indigenous Games, and Parasports.