The Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, will be conferred posthumously on former Prime Ministers P. V. Narasimha Rao and Choudhary Charan Singh, along with M. S. Swaminathan, a pioneer of the Green Revolution. The announcement brings the total number of Bharat Ratna awardees for the year to five, including socialist leader Karpoori Thakur and former Deputy Prime Minister L. K. Advani. Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Rao’s liberalisation policies, Singh’s advocacy for farmers, and Swaminathan’s contributions to agriculture. The awards are expected to be presented posthumously to Rao and Singh’s family members.