Maharashtra Bhushan:
The Maharashtra Bhushan is a highest and prestigious award presented annually by the government of Maharashtra state in India. It was instituted in 1996 and was initially conferred in the fields of Literature, Art, Sport, and Science. Later the fields of Social Work, Journalism, and Public Administration and Health Services were included. The award carries a cash prize of ₹10 lakh, a memento and citation. Prominent persons who were conferred with the award include Lata Mangeshkar (1997), Sachin Tendulkar (2001), Bhimsen Joshi (2002), Baba Amte (2004), Raghunath Anant Mashelkar (2005), Ratan Tata (2006), Mangesh Padgaonkar (2008), Sulochana Latkar (2009) and Babasaheb Purandare (2015).
The Government of Maharashtra has also instituted Shiv Chhatrapati Award which is the highest prestigious sports award honoured annually to the players of Maharashtra.