Bharat Ratna | These 5 People Have Been Awarded Bharat Ratna This Year | English News | News18 Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced that former prime ministers PV Narasimha Rao and Chaudhary Charan Singh and agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan will be conferred Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award.Usually, three Bharat Ratna awards are given in a year. However, this year, the government has named five people for Bharat Ratna, including veteran BJP leader LK Advani and former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur.