GALLANTRY AWARDS ON REPUBLIC DAY

The President approved 384 Gallantry awards, on the eve of 73rd Republic Day, It includes-

29 Param Vishisht Seva Medals,

53 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals,

4 Uttam Yudh Seva Medals,

3 Bar to Vishisht Seva Medals,

13 Yudh Seva Medals,

122 Vishisht Seva Medals,

3 Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry),

2 Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry),

81 Sena Medals (Gallantry),

8 Nao Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty),

40 Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty), and 14 Vayu Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty).-

He also approved 12 Shaurya Chakras for soldiers who demonstrated exceptional courage during operations. Ashok Chakra to Sub Inspector Babu Ram The President will posthumously award Ashok Chakra to Assistant Sub Inspector Babu Ram of Jammu and Kashmir Police at the Republic Day parade on January 26, 2022. Ashok Chakra is India’s highest peace-time gallantry award. Babu Ram had killed three terrorists in Srinagar, during an operation on August 29, 2020. Shaurya Chakra to nine personnel Shaurya Chakra is the third highest peacetime gallantry award of India.

The award will be posthumously conferred to nine personnel as well as to 3 other personnel. The awardees include:

1. Naib Subedar Sreejith M (posthumous)

2. Havildar Anil Kumar Tomar (posthumous)

3. Havildar Kashiray Bammanalli (posthumous)

4. Havildar Pinku Kumar (posthumous)

5. Sepoy Maruprolu Jaswanth Kumar Reddy (posthumous)

6. CRPF Head Constable Ajeet Singh (posthumous)

7. CRPF Constable Vikas Kumar (posthumous)

8. CRPF Constable Purnanand (posthumous)

9. CRPF Head Constable Kuldeep Kumar Urawan (posthumous)

10. Rifleman Rakesh Sharma

11. CRPF Deputy Commandant Dilip Malik

12. CRPF Assistant Commandant Anirudh Pratap Singh.

Param Vishisht Seva Medal The award was constituted in 1960. It is awarded to peace time services. The lawfully constituted armed forces, Territorial Army, reserve forces; auxiliary and nursing officers are eligible for the award.

It is equivalent to Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal. It is lower to Padma Bhushan and higher to Maha Vir Chakra. The medal is round in shape. It is 35 mm in diameter. It is made of gold gilt. A five pointed star is embossed over the medal.

On the other side, the medal has Indian state emblem. It is a military award.

Neeraj Chopra

• The Olympic Gold medal winner Neeraj Chopra was honoured with the Prama Vishisht Seva Medal.

• Neeraj Chopra brought fame to India by winning the country’s first athletic gold medal. In Tokyo Olympics, Chopra won the medal throwing javelin to 87.58 metres.

• Along with Neeraj Chopra, 18 other are being honoured with the award. Achievements of Chopra

• Chopra was honoured with the Arjuna award in 2018.

• In 2020, he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal.

• In 2016, Chopra was enrolled in Rajputana Rifles as Naib Subedar.

• He was a part of the Mission Olympics Wing that operated at the Army Sports Institute located in Pune.

• The Mission Olympics Wing was an initiative of the Indian Army. Under the initiative, the army identified qualified sports person from the army and trained them in different disciplines.

• They participated in national and international competitions. Military Awards in India

• Peacetime: Param Vishisht Seva medal, Ati Vishishi Seva Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal

• Wartime: Yudh Seva Medal, Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal

• Wartime or Peacetime service awards: Vayu Sena Medal (Air Force), Sena Medal (Army) and Nau Sena Medal (Navy)