Renowned Hindustani classical vocalist Pandit Bhimsen Joshi was presented with country’s highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna, at a ceremony held at his residence. He is the second vocalist to get the highest civilian award after Subbulakshmi in 1998.

The award was announced after a gap of seven years. Joshi is the sixth person from the field of art and culture to get the Bharat Ratna award after Satyajit Ray, M S Subbulakshmi, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Lata Mangeshkar and Ustad Bismillah Khan.