Recipients are selected by a committee constituted by the Ministry and honoured for their "spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports over a period of four years" at an international level.

Based on the suggestions provided by 2014 award selection committee, the Ministry revised the criteria in February 2015 to consider the performance over a period of four years.

[9] While announcing the renaming of the award, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed that he was responding to "many requests from citizens across India.

As of 2024[update], there have been 62 recipients across sixteen sport disciplines: athletics, badminton, billiards, boxing, chess, cricket, field hockey, football, gymnastics, para-athletics, para-badminton, para-shooting, shooting, snooker, table tennis, tennis, wrestling, weightlifting, and yacht racing.

[15] All the received nominations are sent to SAI and National Anti-Doping Agency for the verification against the claimed achievements and doping clearance respectively.

Any sportsperson who is either penalised or being enquired for usage of drugs or substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency is not eligible for the award.

[2][16] Based on the suggestions provided by 2014 award selection committee headed by Kapil Dev,[17][18] the Ministry revised the criteria in February 2015 to consider the performance over a period of four years.

[15] Following are the points defined for medals at the given events: For a given discipline, not more than two sportspersons, one male and one female, are given highest marks.

[48] A committee member noted that discus thrower Krishna Poonia and Paralympic athlete Girisha Nagarajegowda were shortlisted and Sodhi was not the initial choice.

[51] Following an announcement, in August 2015, that tennis player Sania Mirza was to be awarded, a Public-Interest Litigation was filed in the Karnataka High Court.

[53] Girisha claimed to be a top contender for the award with 90 points, owing to his silver medal-winning act at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in the Men's High Jump F42 event.