The President presented the honours at a brief function at Rashtrapati Bhavan's Durbar Hall attended by Vice President Hamid Ansari, Union ministers, Sachin's wife Anjali, daughter Sara and a host of dignitaries.
Master batsman Tendulkar, who retired from international cricket on November 16 last year, is the first sportsman to bestowed with the honour.
Tendulkar (40) and Rao (79), both of whom are recipients of Padma Vibhushan -- the country's second highest civilian honour, will join a list of 41 eminent personalities who have been conferred with the award that is given in recognition of exceptional service of the highest order since it was instituted in 1954.
An official statement had said Tendulkar has been a true Ambassador of India in the world of sports and his achievements in cricket are unparallelled, the records set by him unmatched, and the spirit of sportsmanship displayed by him exemplary.
"That he has been honoured with several awards is testimony to his extraordinary brilliance as a sportsman," it said, noting that Tendulkar has played cricket across the world and won laurels for the country during the last 24 years since a young age of 16.
He is the third scientist after C V Raman and former President A P J Abdul Kalam to be conferred with the Bharat Ratna.
Prof Rao's contributions have been recognized by most major scientific academies around the world through conferment of memberships and fellowships and has been honoured with several national and international awards, the official announcement said.
He currently serves as the Head of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India.