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Nobel Prizes & Indian Laureates GK Questions & Answers

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The Nobel Prizes represent the international community's highest academic and humanitarian honours, established through the 1895 will of Swedish chemist and industrialist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite. Administered by the Nobel Foundation, five prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace were first conferred in 1901 in Stockholm and Oslo. In 1968, the Sveriges Riksbank instituted the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. India entered Nobel history in 1913 when polymath Rabindranath Tagore became the first Indian and Asian recipient, awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his lyrical poetry collection Gitanjali, translated into English as 'Song Offerings'. Tagore applied his prize funds toward establishing the experimental rural university Visva-Bharati at Santiniketan.

Scientific achievements among Indian laureates commenced with Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, who received the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering the Raman Effect—the inelastic scattering of photons by molecules—announced on February 28, 1928, and celebrated nationally as National Science Day. Biochemist Har Gobind Khorana shared the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Marshall Nirenberg and Robert Holley for deciphering the genetic code and protein synthesis mechanisms. Astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar shared the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics for mathematical models of stellar evolution, defining the Chandrasekhar Limit of approximately 1.44 solar masses. Structural biologist Venkatraman Ramakrishnan shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for mapping the atomic structure and catalytic function of the ribosome.

Humanitarian service and economic inquiry also feature prominently. Mother Teresa received the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize for her work among the destitute through the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata. Amartya Sen was awarded the 1998 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his work in welfare economics, social choice theory, poverty indices, and the capability approach to famine causality. In 2014, child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Malala Yousafzai for liberating bonded child laborers through the Bachpan Bachao Andolan. Economist Abhijit Banerjee shared the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences with Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer for applying randomized controlled trials to poverty alleviation. In UPSC Civil Services and State PSC examinations, prominent question patterns focus on experimental discoveries, theoretical models, and policy contributions of India's Nobel laureates.

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#1
Rabindranath Tagore was the first Indian and first Asian to win a Nobel Prize (Literature, 1913 for Gitanjali).
#2
Sir C.V. Raman received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930 for discovering inelastic light scattering (Raman Effect).
#3
Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for humanitarian work through the Missionaries of Charity.
#4
Amartya Sen was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1998 for his contributions to welfare economics and famine theory.
#5
Har Gobind Khorana shared the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Nirenberg and Holley for deciphering the genetic code and its protein synthesis function.
#6
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar shared the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics for mathematical studies of stellar structure, establishing the Chandrasekhar limit of 1.44 solar masses.
#7
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry alongside Steitz and Yonath for mapping the atomic structure and function of the ribosome.
#8
Kailash Satyarthi was awarded the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Malala Yousafzai for founding Bachpan Bachao Andolan and spearheading the Global March Against Child Labour.
#9
Abhijit Banerjee won the 2019 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences jointly with Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer for experimental approaches to alleviating global poverty.
#10
Ronald Ross received the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering the malaria parasite lifecycle inside mosquitoes while working at Begumpet, Hyderabad.
#11
Rudyard Kipling, born in Bombay in 1865, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907, remaining the youngest-ever recipient of the literature prize at age 41.
#12
Mahatma Gandhi was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times (1937, 1938, 1939, 1947, 1948) but was never formally awarded the prize before his assassination.
#13
The Nobel Prizes were established under the 1895 will of Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, and were first presented in Stockholm and Oslo in December 1901.
#14
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was instituted in 1968 by Sweden's central bank and first awarded in 1969.
#15
Mother Teresa was granted Indian citizenship in 1951, while Amartya Sen retained Indian citizenship while conducting research at Cambridge and Harvard Universities.

Subject Specialist Commentary

Analytical perspective & practical exam advice from the Master10 academic board

Educator's Insight
The Nobel Prizes, instituted by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel's 1895 will, honour exceptional global contributions across physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, peace, and economic sciences. India has a celebrated history with these awards, beginning with Rabindranath Tagore winning the Literature Prize in 1913 for Gitanjali and Sir C.V. Raman winning in Physics in 1930 for discovering the scattering of light known as the Raman Effect.
In SSC and UPSC exams, question papers frequently test the year, field, and specific discovery of laureates. A frequent trap involves nationality and birth: Ronald Ross and Rudyard Kipling won prizes while working in colonial India, whereas Har Gobind Khorana, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan were Indian-origin scientists who won as foreign citizens. Also remember that Mahatma Gandhi was nominated five times but never received the peace prize.

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