Sports Awards in India are bestowed by the Sports Ministry, Government of India to various sports personalities in different fields for their accomplishments and outstanding performances. These awards include the Arjuna Award, the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, the Dronacharya Awards and the Dhyan Chand Award. Initially, the Government used to confer these awards to the sportspersons for their performances in all types of competitions. However, from the year 2001, the Sports award is given only in those disciplines that fall under the categories like the Olympic Games or the Asian Games or Commonwealth Games or the World Cup or World Championship disciplines and also in Cricket. These awards are also given for the Indigenous competitions and for the Sports for the Physically Challenged.

Some of the most reputed and popular Sports Awards in India are mentioned below-

Arjuna Awards
The Government of India established the Arjuna Awards in India in the year of 1961 for the outstanding performance from the sportspersons in sports and games. The Government has modified the format of Arjuna Award very recently and as per the revised schematic guidelines a sportsperson must have very good consistent performances for the previous 3 years at the international level to be considered as eligible for the Award. The person should also have excellence in his or her respective field of sport for the year for which the Award is recommended he or she should show some extraordinary qualities like the leadership, sportsmanship and a sense of discipline in his or her own field throughout his or her career. The Government gives a statuette of the legendary warrior Arjuna, a scroll of honour, a ceremonial dress and also a cash award of an amount of Rs.3 lakhs to the Awardees.

MAKA Award
The Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Award is given primarily to the top overall winners in the Inter-University Tournaments, as these tournaments are a very much integral and important part of games and sports in the universities and colleges and they also play a very important role in supplying the talents to the country. This is actually a rolling trophy and a small replica of the Trophy is also awarded to the University for Retention. A Committee that is constituted by the AIU recommends the award of the MAKA Trophy. They usually send their recommendation to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of India each year. They recommend the names of 4 Universities according to the order of merit mentioning their score and also giving the calculation sheet.

Dronacharya Award
There is another award in India that is named as the Dronacharya Award and the Government of India instituted this honourable award in the year of 1985. The award is named after the very famous archery coach, mentioned in the epic of India known as the Mahabharata. This very award is not related with the sportspersons who are still playing in the field; instead this is related to those eminent coaches of any particular sport. These Coaches are selected by their performance of being successful to train the sportspersons or teams and also help them to achieve the outstanding results in the international competitions. The person, who gets the award, receives a statuette of the great Guru Dronacharya, a scroll of honour, a ceremonial dress and also a cash prize.

Dhyan Chand Award
The award that is given to the veteran sportspersons of India for their lifetime achievement in their respective field of sport is named as the Dhyan Chand Award for Life Time Achievement in Sports and Games. This is new award that is instituted by the Government of India in the year of 2002. The main objective of the award is to show honour to those sportspersons who have contributed a lot to their respective sports by their performance and still continue to contribute to the promotion of sports even after their retirement from the active sporting career.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award
The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna is the highest honour bestowed to a sportsperson for his/her achievements in India. The award was instituted in the year 1991-92 to provide honour a supreme national accolade to various achievers in the field of sports. The words Khel Ratna, literally mean Sports Gem in English. The award is named after the former Prime Minister of India, late Rajiv Gandhi. The award comprises a medal, a scroll of honour and a substantial cash component.

Other Sports Awards in India
Apart from the awards that have been discussed so far, there are some other special awards from the Indian Government that are being given to the medal winners in the international sports events. In this category of the award, the Government gives away some cash awards. These cash awards are given for winning medals in the international championships like the Olympic Games or the World cup or World Championships or the Asian and Commonwealth Games or Championships. The players who become victorious in the game of Chess and Billiards or Snooker as well as the junior sportspersons who win medals in the World, Asian and Commonwealth Championships, are also given these awards.

Sports awards in India are bequeathed by the Government of India to honour the players who have performed very well in their field of sport. It is organised and conducted to enhance the spirit of players and recognise their skills and achievements.