President approves 78 gallantry awards, including 13 posthumous, on 80th Independence Day-eve
India honours 78 personnel with gallantry awards on the eve of the 80th Independence Day. Image Credit: PIB
New Delhi: The president, Droupadi Murmu, has approved 78 gallantry awards for personnel of the defence forces and central armed police forces. The Ministry of Defence announced the awards on Friday, ahead of 80th Independence Day.
The honours include 9 Kirti Chakras, 7 of them posthumous, 1 Bar to Shaurya Chakra and 19 Shaurya Chakras, including 1 posthumous award. The list also has 5 Bars to Sena Medals (Gallantry), 36 Sena Medals (Gallantry), including 5 posthumous, 3 Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry) and 5 Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry).
Among the Kirti Chakra recipients are Lieutenant Colonel Maneo Francis of 21 Para (Special Forces), Major Jitendra Rathee of 2 Para (Special Forces) and Havildar Gajendra Singh of 2 Para (Special Forces), who has been honoured posthumously. Five central armed police forces personnel have also received the Kirti Chakra posthumously.
Major Aditya Pratap Singh of the Rajputana Rifles and 44 Assam Rifles has been awarded a Bar to Shaurya Chakra. The Shaurya Chakra recipients include personnel from the Army, Air Force and central armed police forces, serving with formations such as the Rashtriya Rifles, Para (Special Forces), Assam Rifles and the Garhwal Rifles.
The Sena Medal (Gallantry) recipients come from several Army formations, including the Rashtriya Rifles, Para Regiment, Assam Rifles, Rajputana Rifles, Gorkha Rifles, Corps of Engineers and Corps of Signals. The gallantry awards also recognise personnel from the Navy and Air Force.
Three personnel have been awarded the Nao Sena Medal (Gallantry), while 5 have received the Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry). The Air Force recipients include, Group Captain Rahul Jagotta, Group Captain Rahul Rawat, Wing Commander Ashish Rajpoot, Flight Lieutenant Yash and Master Warrant Officer Ravinderjit Singh.
In addition to the gallantry awards, the president has approved 89 mention in despatches for armed forces personnel. These include 75 Army personnel, 4 Navy personnel and 10 Air Force personnel.
The mention in despatches list covers personnel associated with several operations, including Operation Rakshak, Operation Hifazat, Operation Orchid, Operation Meghdoot and Operation Snow Leopard. The Army dog Tyson of the Remount Veterinary Corps, 2 Para (Special Forces), is also among those recognised, while 2 Agniveers, Hariom and Krishan Kumar of 2 Mahar, have also been named for mention in despatches.
