Gallantry Awards

India has six main gallantry awards. They fall into two families. One family is for wartime. The other is for peacetime.

1.1 What are the two families?

The wartime awards honour valour in the presence of the enemy:

• Param Vir Chakra: India’s highest military decoration.
• Maha Vir Chakra: the second.
• Vir Chakra: the third.

The peacetime awards honour bravery away from the enemy’s face:

• Ashoka Chakra: the highest peacetime award.
• Kirti Chakra: the second.
• Shaurya Chakra: the third.

The order of precedence mixes them: Param Vir Chakra, Ashoka Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra, Kirti Chakra, Vir Chakra, Shaurya Chakra.

Common mistake: peacetime does not mean “less brave”. It means the act happened without facing an enemy force.

1.2 Who decides?

Recommendations start with military units, the Central Armed Police Forces or police. They move up the chain of command. The Central Honours and Awards Committee examines them. The President of India approves the final list.

The awards are announced twice a year. The first list comes on Republic Day. The second comes on Independence Day.

A repeat act of similar gallantry earns a Bar, shown as a small replica on the ribbon. Both the award and the Bar can be given after death.

2.1 When did each family begin?

The three wartime awards began on 26 January 1950. They took effect from 15 August 1947. That date let them cover the 1947-48 war.

The peacetime awards came later. On 4 January 1952, the Government created Ashoka Chakra Class-I, Class-II and Class-III. They also took effect from 15 August 1947. In January 1967 the three classes were renamed Ashoka Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra.

What does “deemed to have effect from” mean? The award was created later, but it could be given for acts since Independence.

2.2 Who designed the Param Vir Chakra?

The National War Memorial says the medal was designed by Mrs Savitri Khanolkar. It was instituted by President Dr Rajendra Prasad.

The memorial adds that she took her inspiration from sage Dadhichi. The sage gave up his body so the gods could make the Vajra, or thunderbolt, from his spine.

The medal is cast in bronze. In the centre is the State emblem. Four replicas of Indra’s Vajra surround it. The sword of Shivaji flanks the emblem. A purple ribbon, 32 mm wide, holds it.

The name means “Wheel of the Ultimate Brave”. It is given for “most conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy”.

3.1 How many awardees are there?

The National War Memorial lists 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees. Of these, 14 were awarded after death. The earliest is Major Somnath Sharma (3 November 1947). The latest entries are from 1999.

• First: Major Somnath Sharma, posthumous, 3 November 1947.
• Second: Naik Jadunath Singh, posthumous, 6 February 1948.
• 1971 war: Lance Naik Albert Ekka, Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, Major Hoshiar Singh and Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal.
• 1999 Kargil: Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey, Grenadier Yogender Singh Yadav, Rifleman Sanjay Kumar and Captain Vikram Batra.

Common mistake: the first Param Vir Chakra went to an Army officer, not to the Air Force. The memorial’s list has one Air Force name, Flying Officer Sekhon.

4.1 What did the Independence Day list contain?

On 14 August 2026, the eve of the 80th Independence Day, President Droupadi Murmu approved 78 gallantry awards. 13 were posthumous. The list also had 89 Mention-in-Despatches. PIB gives the full break-up:

• 9 Kirti Chakras, 7 of them posthumous.
• 1 Bar to Shaurya Chakra and 19 Shaurya Chakras, 1 posthumous.
• 5 Bar to Sena Medal (Gallantry) and 36 Sena Medals (Gallantry), 5 posthumous.
• 3 Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry) and 5 Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry).

4.2 What was conferred in June 2026?

On 8 June 2026, President Murmu presented 51 gallantry awards at the Defence Investiture Ceremony (Phase-I), Rashtrapati Bhavan. They were 7 Kirti Chakras, 15 Vir Chakras and 29 Shaurya Chakras. Six of the 51 were posthumous: two Kirti Chakras, three Vir Chakras and one Shaurya Chakra.

On 29 June 2026, Phase-II gave 105 distinguished service decorations. These were 7 Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medals, 30 Param Vishisht Seva Medals, 12 Uttam Yudh Seva Medals and 56 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals.

Common mistake: Phase-II medals are for distinguished service, not for battlefield valour.

4.3 What did the Ministry clarify about Operation Sindoor?

On 27 June 2026, the Ministry of Defence rejected reports that six Operation Sindoor soldiers were honoured only recently.

It said the then Director General of Military Operations paid tribute to them at a press conference on 11 May 2025. They received gallantry awards in a press release of 14 August 2025.

The Army Chief gave the Sena Medal (Gallantry) to three families at the Army Day Parade in Jaipur on 15 January 2026. The Air Chief did the same on 8 October 2025.

4.4 What should you remember?

• Two families: wartime (Param Vir, Maha Vir, Vir) and peacetime (Ashoka, Kirti, Shaurya).
• Dates: wartime awards from 26 January 1950; peacetime from 4 January 1952; renamed January 1967.
• Design: Savitri Khanolkar, with Dadhichi’s Vajra.
• Count: 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees, 14 posthumous.
• 2026: 78 awards on 14 August; 51 conferred on 8 June.