The Khel Ratna Award, officially known as the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, is the highest sporting honour of India. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India.
The first recipient of the award Viswanathan Anand is the country's first chess Grandmaster and a five-time winner of World Chess Championship.
Pankaj Advani is the only sportsperson to have won the award for two sports disciplines: billiards and snooker.
Most recent recipients (2023): Chirag Shetty (left) & Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (right).
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is a branch of the Government of India which administers the Department of Youth Affairs and the Department of Sports in India. Anurag Thakur is the current Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports followed by his Deputy Nisith Pramanik.
Anurag Thakur
Image: Rajiv Gandhi, the 6th PM of India
Image: Uma Bharati in 2014
Image: The Leader of Opposition, B The Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri Ananthkumar, in New Delhi on January 08, 2015 (cropped)