This time the soldiers of Defense Forces and Central Armed Police Forces will receive 78 gallantry awards. President Draupadi Murmu has approved these gallantry awards on Friday, on the eve of Independence Day 2026. Of these, 13 soldiers will be awarded gallantry awards posthumously. The Defense Ministry shared this information.
The ministry said that a total of 9 soldiers, including 7 posthumously, will be awarded the Karti Chakra. Major Aditya Pratap Singh will be awarded Bar Two Shaurya Chakra. These include 19 Shaurya Chakras (one posthumous), 5 Bar Two Sena Medals (Gallantry), 36 Sena Medals (Gallantry), 3 Navy Medals (Gallantry) and 5 Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry).
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Kirti Chakra
- Lieutenant Colonel Maneo Francis, 21 Para (Special Forces) — Army
- Major Jitendra Rathi, 2 Para (Special Forces) – Army
- Havildar Gajendra Singh, 2 Para (Special Forces) — Army (posthumously)
- Jagbir Singh, Head Constable – Ministry of Home Affairs (Posthumous)
- Jaswant Singh, SG Constable – Ministry of Home Affairs (Posthumous)
- Balwinder Singh, SG Constable – Ministry of Home Affairs (Posthumously)
- Tario Hussain, SG Constable – Ministry of Home Affairs (Posthumous)
- Bashir Ahmed, Head Constable—Ministry of Home Affairs (posthumous)
- Sunil Kumar, Inspector STF — Ministry of Home Affairs (posthumously)
Bar to Shaurya Chakra
- Major Aditya Pratap Singh, SC, MG, The Rajputana Rifles, 44 Assam Rifles — Army
- Shaurya Chakra
- Major Paramvir, The Garhwal Rifles, 36 Rashtriya Rifles — Army
- Major Tarun Vasudevan, The Corps of Engineers, 57 Rashtriya Rifles – Army
- Major Keshav Kumar, 12 Dogra – Army
- Major Gaurav Singh Brijwal, 21 Grenadiers – Army
- Major Vipin Kumar, The Corps of Signals, 11 Rashtriya Rifles — Army
- Naib Subedar Shankar Ram, 3 Assam Rifles – Army
- Naib Subedar Dabbal Singh Bisht, 21 Para (Special Forces) – Army
- Havildar Jagtar Singh, 4 Para (Special Forces) – Army
- Lance Naik Narendra Sindhu, The Rajputana Rifles, 9 Rashtriya Rifles – Army (posthumous)
- Lance Naik Kapil Dev, The Dogra Regiment, 11 Rashtriya Rifles — Army
- Sep Jaswinder Singh, 7 Sikh Light Infantry — Army
- Lieutenant Commander Shivam Kumar – Navy
- Squadron Leader Sudhir Kumar, Flying (Pilot) – Air Force
- Dheeraj Singh Katoch, DYSP — Ministry of Home Affairs
- Ajay Singh Chhib, Inspector – Ministry of Home Affairs
- Sukhveer Singh, Dy. SP – Home Ministry
- Niaz Ahmed, Assistant Sub-Inspector – Ministry of Home Affairs
- Anjani Kumar, Deputy Commandant – Ministry of Home Affairs
- Deepak Sah, Constable – Ministry of Home Affairs
Bar to Army Medal (Gallantry)
- Major DS Paosho, SM, 7 Madras – Army
- Major Anuj Mahajan, SM, The Mechanized Infantry, 36 Assam Rifles — Army
- Major Krishna Kant, SM, 21 Para (Special Forces) — Army
- Subedar Ramesh Kumar, SM, 159 Infantry Battalion (Territorial Army) — Army
- Naib Subedar Rajendra Singh, SM, 2 Para (Special Forces) – Army
army medal
- Lieutenant Colonel Pushkar Vijay Chaudhary, 27 (Independent) R&O Flight — Army
- Lieutenant Colonel Sonam Topden Bhutia, 2/8 Gorkha Rifles — Army
- Major Sudhanshu Shekhar Pani, The Para Regiment, 9 Rashtriya Rifles – Army
- Major Mohit Podia, The Regiment of Artillery, 37 Assam Rifles — Army
- Major R. Sahil, The Garhwal Rifles, 33 Assam Rifles — Army
- Major Balendu Kumar Jha, 24 Grenadiers – Army
- Major Ravi Shankar Joshi, The Rajputana Rifles, 57 Rashtriya Rifles — Army
- Major Rupam Das, 8 Bihar – Army
- Major Arnav Bali, The Mechanized Infantry, 9 Rashtriya Rifles — Army
- Major Anshuman Ranjan, 4 Para (Special Forces) – Army
- Major Arvind Kumar, The Corps of Engineers, 33 Assam Rifles — Army
- Captain Karan Singh Cheema, The Assam Regiment, 59 Rashtriya Rifles — Army
- Captain Harish Singh Dewal, The Maratha Light Infantry, 17 Rashtriya Rifles — Army
- Captain Mohit Rawat, The Corps of Signals, 44 Assam Rifles — Army
- Captain Anshuman Singh, 11 Para (Special Forces) – Army
- Swaraj Sudhir becomes Captain, 21 Para (Special Forces) – Army
- Captain Prithviraj Jaisingh Nighot, 21 Para (Special Forces) – Army
- Captain Savik, 5/9 Gorkha Rifles — Army
- Lieutenant Bhanu Pratap Singh, 12 Dogra – Army
- Lieutenant Aman Pandey, 8 Bihar – Army
- Assistant Commandant Vikas Rai, 11 Assam Rifles — Army
- Subedar Pawan Kumar, 11 Para (Special Forces) – Army
- Subedar Parbhat Gaur, The Para Regiment, 9 Rashtriya Rifles – Army (posthumous)
- Subedar Kanese Namdev Balkrishna, 18 Maratha Light Infantry – Army
- Subedar Baljinder Singh, 7 Sikh Light Infantry – Army
- Naib Subedar Dayal Singh, The Garhwal Rifles, 36 Rashtriya Rifles – Army
- Naib Subedar Dayal Singh, The Garhwal Rifles, 36 Rashtriya Rifles – Army
- Havildar L. Joel Kom, 21 Para (Special Forces) — Army
- Havildar Mulla Abid Ali Ashraf Ali, 18 Maratha Light Infantry — Army
- Lance Havildar Palash Ghosh, The Para Regiment, 19 Rashtriya Rifles – Army (posthumous)
- Naik Ali Mohammad Khan, 24 Grenadiers — Army
- Lance Naik Sujay Ghosh, The Para Regiment, 19 Rashtriya Rifles – Army (posthumous)
- Lance Naik Abhimanyu Singh, 21 Grenadiers – Army
- Lance Naik Bidha Singh, The Jat Regiment, 34 Rashtriya Rifles – Army
- Lance Naik Preetpal Singh, The Sikh Light Infantry, 19 Rashtriya Rifles — Army (posthumous)
- Sepoy Harminder Singh, The Sikh Light Infantry, 19 Rashtriya Rifles – Army (posthumous)
- Paratrooper Himanshu Kumar, 21 Para (Special Forces) — Army
Navy Medal (Gallantry)
- Commander Vineet Sharma – Navy
- Commander Yuvraj Kumar – Navy
- AC Avinash Annaso, POA (FD) — Navy
Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry)
- Group Captain Rahul Jagotta, Flying (Pilot) – Air Force
- Group Captain Rahul Rawat, Flying (Pilot) – Air Force
- Wing Commander Ashish Rajput, Flying (Pilot) – Air Force
- Flight Lieutenant Yash, Flying (Pilot) – Air Force
- Master Warrant Officer Ravinderjit Singh, Parachute Jump Instructor – Air Force
CRPF received 86 gallantry and service medals
On the other hand, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) received 86 gallantry and service medals. The country's largest paramilitary force received 24 Gallantry Medals (GM), five President's Medals for Distinguished Service (PSM) and 57 Medals for Meritorious Service (MSM), the Home Ministry said on Friday. These gallantry medals have been received for two anti-terrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir and one operation against insurgents in Manipur in 2024. After CRPF, Border Security Force (BSF) got 20 gallantry medals and 47 service medals.
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Deputy Inspector General (DIG) M. Dhinakaran's name is also included among the recipients of the President's Medal. Dhinakaran has been serving in the paramilitary force for more than three decades. He has commanded anti-Naxal operations and headed the intelligence and VIP security units of CRPF. Dhinakaran, who has served in SPG, is currently the head of the CRPF Recruitment Training Center in Avadi, Chennai.
When did bravery awards start?
According to the Defense Ministry, after independence, the first three gallantry awards Param Vir Chakra, Mahavir Chakra and Vir Chakra were instituted on 26 January 1950. After this, three other gallantry awards Ashoka Chakra Category-I, Ashoka Chakra Category-II and Ashoka Chakra Category-III were instituted on 4 January 1952. In January 1967, the names of these awards were changed to Ashok Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra respectively. These bravery awards are announced twice a year. For the first time on the occasion of Republic Day and second time on the occasion of Independence Day.