Question: Who was honored with the highest award in India before becoming president?

title: State Bank of India
text: State Bank of India: The bank descends from the Bank of Calcutta, founded in 1806, via the Imperial Bank of India, making it the oldest commercial bank in the Indian subcontinent. The Bank of Madras merged into the other two ``presidency banks ''in British India, the Bank of Calcutta and the Bank of Bombay, to form the Imperial Bank of India, which in turn became the State Bank of India in 1955. The Government of India took control of the Imperial Bank of India in 1955, with Reserve Bank of India (India's central bank) taking a 60% stake, renaming it the State Bank of India. In 2008, the government took over the stake held by the Reserve Bank of India.

title: Cinema of India
text: The cinema of India also known by its sobriquet Indywood consists of films produced across India. Cinema has immense popularity in the country. As many as 1,600 films in various languages of India are produced every year. Indian films have also wide following throughout the rest of South Asia and it is even available in mainstream cinemas in parts of the Greater Middle East, Southeast Asia, Eastern Africa and elsewhere. Dadasaheb Phalke is known as the ``father of Indian cinema ''. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award, for lifetime contribution to cinema, was instituted in his honour, by the Government of India in 1969, and is the most prestigious and coveted award in Indian cinema.

title: Nuchhungi Renthlei
text: Nuchhungi Renthlei (1 January 1914 – 1 January 2002) was an Indian poet, singer and school teacher, known for her poems written in Mizo language. She was the founder of "Girls' Auxiliary", an organization for women's rights, which she founded in 1939. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1986.

title: Saifuddin Kitchlew
text: Dr. Kitchlew was opposed to the Muslim League's demand for Pakistan and later in the 1940s became President of the Punjab Congress Committee. In 1947 he strongly opposed the acceptance of the Partition of India by the Congress Party. He spoke out against it at public meetings all over the country, and at the All India Congress Committee session that ultimately voted for the resolution. He called it a blatant ``surrender of nationalism for communalism ''. Some years after partition and Independence, he left the Congress. He began to come closer to the Communist Party of India. He was the founder president of the All - India Peace Council and also remained President of 4th Congress of All - India Peace Council, held at Madras in 1954, besides remaining Vice President of the World Peace Council.

title: Lata Mangeshkar
text: Lata Mangeshkar (pronunciation (help info)) (born 28 September 1929) is an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is one of the best - known and most respected playback singers in India. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over seven decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty - six regional Indian languages and foreign languages, though primarily in Marathi and Hindi. She is the recipient of three National Film Awards, 12 Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards, four Filmfare Best Female Playback Awards and many more. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award was bestowed on her in 1989 by the Government of India. She is also the second vocalist, after M.S. Subbulakshmi, to have ever been awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2001, India's highest civilian honour. She has four siblings -- Asha Bhosle, Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Usha Mangeshkar and Meena Mangeshkar -- of which she is the eldest.

title: Filmfare Awards
text: The Filmfare Awards are a set of awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the oldest and most prestigious film events in India. The awards were first introduced by The Times Group in 1954, the same year as the National Film Awards. They were initially referred to as the "Clare Awards" or "The Clares" after Clare Mendonca, the editor of The Times of India. A dual voting system was developed in 1956. Under this system, in contrast to the National Film Awards, which are decided by a panel appointed by Indian Government, the Filmfare Awards are voted on by both the public and a committee of experts.

title: K. Shivaram Karanth
text: Kota Shivaram Karanth (10 October 1902 – 9 December 1997) was an Indian polymath, who was a novelist in Kannada language, playwright and conservationist. Ramachandra Guha called him the "Rabindranath Tagore of Modern India, who has been one of the finest novelists-activists since independence". He was the third writer to be decorated with the Jnanpith Award for Kannada, the highest literary honor conferred in India. His son Ullas is a conservationist.

title: Savita Behen
text: Savita Behen was an Indian politician, social worker, educationist and a former member of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the bicameral Indian Parliament. She was known to be an advocate of women empowerment and gender equality and was listed among the "3300 distinguished living women" of the world by the Council for Parity Democracy in 1990. She was honoured by the Government of India in 1971 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.

title: Ashok Kumar Mago
text: Ashok Kumar Mago is an Indian born American business person and the founder Chairman of Greater Dallas Indo American Chamber, now known as (US-INDIA Chamber of Commerce) who is known for his involvement of the Senate India caucus. He was awarded the Padma Shree, the fourth highest civilian award, by the Government of India, in 2014, for his services to the trade and industry.

title: Padmanabhan Balaram
text: Padmanabhan Balaram is an Indian biochemist and a former director of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India. He is a recipient of the third highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Bhushan (2014) as well as the TWAS Prize (1994).

title: President of India
text: President of the Republic of India State Emblem of India Flag of India Incumbent Ram Nath Kovind since 25 July 2017 Style Honourable (within India) His / Her Excellency (outside India) Residence Rashtrapati Bhavan Appointer The Electoral College of India Term length Five years. No term limits are imposed on the office. Inaugural holder Rajendra Prasad 26 January 1950 Formation The Constitution of India January 26, 1950; 67 years ago (1950 - 01 - 26) Deputy Vice President of India Salary ₹150,000 (US $2,300) (per month) Website President of India

title: R. Vasudevan
text: R. Vasudevan was an Indian civil servant, and served as special secretary to the Prime Minister of India (Rajiv Gandhi), as also Secretary, Ministry of Steel and Ministry of Power, Government of India. Born in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Vasudevan was the holder of master's degrees in Economics from the University of Delhi and in public administration from Harvard University. He died on 25 July 2010. The Government of India honoured him, posthumously, in 2015, with the award of Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.

title: Lokesh Kumar Singhal
text: Lokesh Kumar Singhal is an Indian metallurgical engineer known for his expertise in steel making and for the innovations he brought into the steelmaking industry in India. He was honored by the Government of India in 2012 with the fourth highest Indian civilian award, the Padma Shri.

title: Vishwanath Jadhav
text: On 4 April 1952, Vishwanath was honoured by the first President of India, Rajendra Prasad, at the golden jubilee celebrations of the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya at Delhi.

title: Noboru Karashima
text: Professor Karashima played a critical role in developing Indo-Japan cultural ties and was conferred the Padma Shri award in 2013, one of India's highest civilian award, for his contribution in the field of literature and education. In a rare gesture the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh handed over the award personally to Professor Karashima in Tokyo. He died of leukemia in November, 2015.

title: Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
text: Radhakrishnan was awarded several high awards during his life, including a knighthood in 1931, the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India, in 1954, and honorary membership of the British Royal Order of Merit in 1963. He was also one of the founders of Helpage India, a non profit organisation for elderly underprivileged in India. Radhakrishnan believed that ``teachers should be the best minds in the country ''. Since 1962, his birthday is being celebrated in India as Teachers' Day on 5 September.

title: A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
text: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam 11th President of India In office 25 July 2002 -- 25 July 2007 Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee Manmohan Singh Vice President Krishan Kant Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Preceded by K.R. Narayanan Succeeded by Pratibha Patil Personal details Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (1931 - 10 - 15) 15 October 1931 Rameswaram, Madras Presidency, British India (now in Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu, India 27 July 2015 (2015 - 07 - 27) (aged 83) Shillong, Meghalaya, India Nationality Indian Alma mater St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli Madras Institute of Technology Profession Aerospace scientist Professor Author Awards Bharat Ratna (1997) Hoover Medal (2009) NSS Von Braun Award (2013) Notable work (s) Wings of Fire Signature Website abdulkalam.com

title: Bharat Ratna
text: The Bharat Ratna (Hindi pronunciation: (bhaːrət̪ rət̪nə); Jewel of India) is the highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted in 1954, the award is conferred ``in recognition of exceptional service / performance of the highest order '', without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. The award was originally limited to achievements in the arts, literature, science, and public services, but the government expanded the criteria to include`` any field of human endeavour'' in December 2011. The recommendations for the Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister to the President, with a maximum of three nominees being awarded per year. Recipients receive a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President and a peepal - leaf -- shaped medallion; there is no monetary grant associated with the award. Bharat Ratna recipients rank seventh in the Indian order of precedence.

title: Bharat Ratna
text: The first recipients of the Bharat Ratna were politician C. Rajagopalachari, philosopher Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and scientist C.V. Raman, who were honoured in 1954. Since then, the award has been bestowed upon 45 individuals, including 12 who were awarded posthumously. The original statutes did not provide for posthumous awards but were amended in January 1955 to permit them. Former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri became the first individual to be honoured posthumously. In 2014, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, then aged 40, became the youngest recipient; while social reformer Dhondo Keshav Karve was awarded on his 100th birthday. Though usually conferred on India - born citizens, the Bharat Ratna has been awarded to one naturalised citizen, Mother Teresa, and to two non-Indians, Pakistan national Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and former South African President Nelson Mandela. On 24 December 2014, the Indian government announced the award to independence activist Madan Mohan Malaviya (posthumously) and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

title: Orders, decorations, and medals of India
text: The Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of the country, was instituted in the year 1954. Any person without distinction of race, occupation, position, or gender is eligible for this award. It is awarded in recognition of exceptional service / performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour. On conferment of the award, the recipient receives a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President and a medallion.

Answer: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam