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List of Gallantry Awards in India for Banking & SSC Exams

Gallantry Awards are meant for exceptional courage, valour and dignity. In India, the Gallantry Awards are given to the personnel of the forces for their exceptional bravery. This article will help you know and remember the Gallantry Awards, its types and its recipients and prepare well for the competitive Exams.

You should know about the key facts before going through the recipients of the Gallantry Awards.

• After Independence, the three Gallantry Awards came into existence namely the Param Vir Chakra, the Maha Vir Chakra and the Vir Chakra.

• These awards were instituted by the Government of India on 26th January 1950. • These awards were deemed to have effect from the 15th August 1947. • On 4th January 1952, other three Gallantry Awards i.e. Ashoka Chakra Class-I, Ashoka

Chakra Class-II and Ashoka Chakra Class-III were instituted. • Later, these awards were renamed as Ashoka Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya

Chakra respectively in January 1967. • All the Gallantry Awards may be awarded posthumously.

These Gallantry Awards are announced twice in a year - first on the occasion of the Republic Day and then on the occasion of the Independence Day. The order of precedence of these awards is as follows:

1. Param Vir Chakra 2. Ashoka Chakra 3. Mahavir Chakra 4. Kirti Chakra 5. Vir Chakra 6. Shaurya Chakra

Awards Medals

Paramvir Chakra

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Mahavir Chakra

Vir Chakra

Ashoka Chakra

Kirti Chakra

Shaurya Chakra

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Selection Process for Gallantry Awards

The selection process for giving out Gallantry Awards is as follows:

1. The Ministry of Defence invites recommendations twice in a year from the Armed Forces and Union Ministry of Home Affairs for Gallantry Awards.

2. These recommendations are invited normally in the month of August for the awards to be announced on the occasion of Republic Day.

3. Moreover, for the awards to be announced on the occasion of the Independence Day, the recommendations are invited in the month of March.

The main process is as follows:

1. In respect of the Armed Forces, a case for the Gallantry Award is initiated by the Unit. 2. If the recommendations are found suitable then it is forwarded to respective Services HQrs

duly recommended by Commanders in the chain immediately after the act of gallantry is performed.

3. All these proposals are then considered by the Awards Committee at Services HQs before recommending the proposals to the Ministry of Defence with the approval of the respective Chiefs.

4. However, recommendations in respect of civilian citizens other than Defence personnel are received from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Selection Criteria for Gallantry Awards Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra & Vir Chakra

• Param Vir Chakra is awarded for most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of valor or self-sacrifice, in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea, or in the air.

• Maha Vir Chakra is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy whether on land, at sea or in the air.

• Vir Chakra is awarded for acts of gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land or at sea or in the air.

Ashoka Chakra, Kirti Chakra & Shaurya Chakra

• Ashoka Chakra is awarded for most conspicuous bravery or some act of daring or pre-eminent act of valor or self-sacrifice otherwise than in the face of the enemy.

• Kirti Chakra is awarded for conspicuous gallantry otherwise than in the face of the enemy. • Shaurya Chakra is awarded for gallantry otherwise than in the face of the enemy.

List of Gallantry Awards in India #1. Paramvir Chakra

Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest military decoration awarded for the displaying distinguished acts of valor during the war. The name of the award means the "Wheel of the Ultimate

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Brave". Moreover, PVC is equivalent to the Medal of Honor in the United States and the Victoria Cross in the United Kingdom.

Medal: The medal is circular in shape, made of bronze, one and three-eighth inches in diameter. On its reverse, it shall have embossed “PARAM VIR CHAKRA” both in Hindi and in English with two lotus flowers between the inscriptions.

Ribbon: Plain purple colored ribbon.

Some important Recipients

• Somnath Sharma- 1947 • Jadu Nath Singh- 1948 • Yogendra Singh Yadav- 1999 • Sanjay Kumar- 1999 • Vikram Batra-1999

#2. Mahavir Chakra

Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) is literally called a great warrior medal. It is the second highest military decoration in India, after the Param Vir Chakra, This is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air. Also, it replaced the British Distinguished Service Order (DSO). The medal may be awarded posthumously.

Medal: The medal is circular in shape and of standard silver, one and three-eighth inches in diameter. On the reverse, it shall have embossed “MAHA VIR CHAKRA” both in Hindi and in English with two lotus flowers between the inscriptions.

Ribbon: The ribbon is of a half-white and half-orange color.

Some important Recipients

• LT. Colonel Dewan Ranjit Rai - 1947 • Brigadier Narinder Singh Sandhu - 1971 • Captain Anuj Nayyar - 1999 • Captain Gurjinder Singh Suri - 2001

#3. Vir Chakra

Vir Chakra is an Indian gallantry award presented for acts of bravery in the wars. It is third in precedence in the war time Gallantry Awards and comes after the Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra. Moreover, it replaced the British Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), Military Cross (MC) and Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC).

Medal: The medal is Circular in shape and of standard silver, one and three-eighth inches in diameter. On the reverse, it shall have embossed “VIR CHAKRA” both in Hindi and in English with two lotus flowers between the inscriptions.

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Ribbon: The ribbon is half blue and half orange in color.

Some important Recipients

• Subedar Nadikerianda Bheemaiah - 1947 for Kashmir War • Vice Adm Arun Prakash - 1971 for Operation Cactus Lily • Air Commodore Kuldeep Singh Sahota - 1972 for Pakistan war of 1971 • Colonel Lalit Rai - 1999 for Operation Vijay (1999), Kargil War • Capt. Baleyada Muthanna Cariappa - 2000 for Operation Vijay, Kargil War

#4. Ashoka Chakra

Ashoka Chakra is India's highest peacetime military decoration awarded for valor, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield. It is the peace time equivalent of the Param Vir Chakra. It is awarded for the "most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent valor or self-sacrifice" other than in the face of the enemy. The decoration may be awarded either to a military or civilian personnel. This award is equivalent to US Army's peacetime Medal Of Honor and the British George Cross.

Medal: Circular in shape, one and three-eighth inches in diameter, with rims on both sides. The medal will be of gold gild. On its reverse shall be embossed the words “Ashok Chakra” both in Hindi and English the two versions being separated by two lotus flowers.

Ribbon: Green color ribbon divided into two equal segments by an orange vertical line.

Some important Recipients

• Suhas Biswas - 1952 • Cyrus Addie Pithawalla - 1981 • Nirbhay Singh - 1985 • Shanti Swarup Rana - 1997 • Hangpan Dada - 2016

#5. Kirti Chakra

Kirti Chakra is an Indian military decoration awarded for valor, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield. It may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, including posthumous awards. Moreover, it is the peacetime equivalent of Maha Vir Chakra. Therefore, it is second in order of precedence of peacetime Gallantry Awards; it comes after Ashoka Chakra and before Shaurya Chakra. the award was known as the Ashoka Chakra, Class II V before 1967.

Medal: The medal is circular in shape and of standard silver, one and three-eighth inches in diameter, with rims on both sides. Also, on its reverse shall be embossed the words “KIRTI CHAKRA” both in Hindi and English, the two versions being separated by two lotus flowers.

Ribbon: Green color ribbon divided into three equal parts by two orange vertical lines.

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Some important Recipients

• ORD S/M Bachan Singh - 1962 • PO TAS I Gur Iqbal Singh (P) - 1974 • IPS Ajit Doval - 1988 • SP Vinod Kumar Choubey - 2009 • Major Mahesh Kumar - 2013

#6. Shaurya Chakra

Shaurya Chakra is an Indian military decoration awarded for valor, courageous action or self-sacrifice while not engaged in direct action with the enemy. Moreover, it may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel. This is awarded for Counter-Insurgency operations and actions against the enemy during peace-time. Moreover, this is the peacetime equivalent of the Vir Chakra. This is third in order of precedence of peacetime Gallantry Awards. It comes after the Ashoka Chakra and the Kirti Chakra and precedes the Sena Medal. The award was known as Ashoka Chakra, Class III before 1967.

Medal: The medal is circular in shape and made of bronze, one and three-eighth inches in diameter, with rims on both sides. On its reverse shall be embossed the words “SHAURYA CHAKRA” both in Hindi and English, the two versions being separated by two lotus flowers.

Ribbon: Green color ribbon divided into four equal parts by three vertical lines.

Some important Recipients

• Colonel Neeraj Sood - 2011 • Major Shalender - 2012 • Captain Dinesh Kumar - 2013 • Major Gaurav Thakur - 2014 • Lt Col Sankalp Kumar - 2015

List of Gallantry Awards and other Decorations – 2019

Kirti Chakra

Name of Person Field

Sapper Prakash Jadhav, The Corps Of Engineers/First Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous)

Army

Shri Harshpal Singh, Dy Commandant - CRPF.

Vir Chakra

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, Flying (Pilot) Air Force.

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Shaurya Chakra

Lieutenant Colonel Ajay Singh Kushwah, The Jammu And Kashmir Rifles/3rd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal, The Corps Of Electronic And Mechanical Engineers/55th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous)

Army

Captain Maheshkumar Bhure, The Corps Of Engineers/34th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles Army

Lance Naik Sandeep Singh, 4th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (special Forces) (posthumous)

Army

Sepoy Brajesh Kumar, The Punjab Regiment/22nd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous)

Army

Sepoy Hari Singh, The Grenadiers/55th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous Army

Rifleman Ajveer Singh Chauhan, 6th Battalion The Garhwal Rifles Army

. Rifleman Shive Kumar, The Jammu And Kashmir Light Infantry/31st Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous)

Army.

Amit Singh Rana Navy

Shri Sable Dnyaneshwar Shriram, Constable CRPF

Shri Zaker Hussain, Constable CRPF

Shri Ashiq Hussain Malik, Special Police Official (posthumous) MHA

Shri Subash Chander, Head Constable J&K MHA

Shri Imran Hussain Tak, Sub Inspector (posthumous) MHA

Bar To Sena Medal (gallantry)

Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, Sena Medal Brigade Of The Guards/21st Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Major K Naveen Reddy, Sena Medal The Corps Of Engineers/42nd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Major Sagar Prakash Pardeshi, Sena Medal The Armoured Corps/22nd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Major Tasou Prao, Sena Medal The Jammu And Kashmir Rifles/3rd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

. Major Md Sahwaj Alam, Sena Medal The Assam Regiment/42nd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Major Kaustubh Prakashkumar Rane, Sena Medal The Garhwal Rifles/36th

Army

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Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous) . Major Manish Kumar Singh, Sena Medal The Engineer Regiment/53rd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Sepoy Sunil Kumar, Sena Medal 20th Battalion The Jat Regiment

Army

Sena Medal(gallantry) Lieutenant Colonel Rajesh Choudhary 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)

Army

. Lieutenant Colonel Bhagwan Singh Bisht The Parachute Regiment/31st Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

. Lieutenant Colonel Punyabachi Mohanty 9th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)

Army

Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Raza Israil 9th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)

Army

Lieutenant Colonel Amrendra Prasad Dwivedi The Assam Regiment/42nd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

. Lieutenant Thaiba Simon First Battalion The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)

Army

Major Sandeep Washisht The Parachute Regiment/31st Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

6. Major Jaswinder Singh, The Punjab Regiment/53rd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Major Vikas Katoch, The Jammu And Kashmir Rifles/52nd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Major Revinder Bhakher, 9th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)

Army

Major Udayan Thakur, The Army Service Corps/50th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Major Vijesh Kumar, The Mahar Regiment/first Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Major Sachin Kumar Agarwal, The Mahar Regiment/30th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Major Chitresh Bisht, The Corps Of Engineers/55th Engineer Regiment (posthumous)

Army

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. Major Kh Shem, The Jat Regiment/5th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Major Ashish Kumar, 4th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)

Army

Major Happy Charak, 9th Battalion The Rajputana Rifles

Army

Major Yogesh Pandey, The Corps Of Engineers/9th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Major Laxman Singh, The Mechanized Infantry/9th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Major Patharkar Anand Sharad, Brigade Of The Guards/50th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Major Javalkar Vaibhav Pramod, The Armoured Corps/55th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Major Soham Bhattacharjee, The Corps Of Engineers/first Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Major Shakti Singh, 23rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment

Army

Major Inder Preet Singh, The Armoured Corps/22nd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Captain Shiv Kumar Sharma, 9th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)

Army

Captain Kunal Kumar, 21st Battalion The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)

Army

Captain Prateek Ranjangaonkar, The Assam Regiment/42nd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Captain Saurabh Patni, The Corps Of Signals/55th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Captain Ashish Gedion Paudel, 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)

Army

Subedar Trilok Singh, 3rd Battalion The Jammu And Kashmir Rifles

Army

Naib Subedar Tara Chand, 16th Battalion The Assam Rifles

Army

Naib Subedar Ravinder Singh, First Battalion The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)

Army

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Naib Subedar Jai Dev 9th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)

Army

Battery Havildar Major Hans Raj, The Corps Of Artillery/66th Medium Regiment

Army

Havildar Sandeep Malik, 12th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)

Army

Havildar Balinder Singh, 4th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)

Army

Havildar Baljeet, The Mechanised Infantry/50th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Havildar Bhupendra Singh, 23rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment

Army

Havildar Ajay Kumar Rana, The Punjab Regiment/53rd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Havildar Sheo Ram, The Grenadiers/55th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous)

Army

Havildar Rakesh Kumar, The Jat Regiment/34th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Havildar Javid Ahmad Chopan, 9th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)

Army

Lance Havildar Vijay Kumar, 23rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (posthumous)

Army

Lance Havildar Sandeep Kumar, 23rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment

Army

Naik Ashwani Kumar, 9th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)

Army

Naik Jankar Singh, The Jammu And Kashmir Rifles/3rd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Naik Sunny Thakur, The Mechanized Infantry/42nd Battalion Mechanished

Army

Naik Ramesh Kumar, 20th Battalion The Jat Regiment

Army

Naik Narendra Kumar, The Jat Regiment/5th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Naik Santosh Singh, 9th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)

Army

Lance Naik Sombir, 23rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment

Army

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Lance Naik Jagtar Singh, The Punjab Regiment/22nd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Lance Naik Surendra Singh, 4th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)

Army

Lance Naik Anuj Kumar, The Mahar Regiment/first Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Sepoy Kulwinder Singh, The Mechanized Infantry/42nd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Sepoy Jagmohan Singh, The Mechanized Infantry/42nd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Sepoy Samaresh Dey, The Mechanized Infantry/50th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Sepoy Suhail Singh Saini, The Mechanized Infantry/42nd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Sepoy S Vigi Bhaskar, 12th Battalion The Madras Regiment

Army

Grenadier Tawseef Yousuf, The Grenadiers/55th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Grenadier Ajay Kumar, The Grenadiers/55th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous)

Army

Sepoy Penta Nithin Paul, 24th Battalion The Maratha Light Infantry

Army

Sepoy Sunil, The Jat Regiment/34th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Sepoy Rinku, The Jat Regiment/34th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Sepoy Sushil Singh Kalakoti, The Kumaon Regiment/50th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Sepoy Rajveer Singh Yadav, The Kumaon Regiment/50th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Sepoy Pankaj Boro, The Assam Regiment/42nd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles.

Army

Sepoy Rahul Das, The Assam Regiment/42nd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

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Sepoy Gulshan Singh, The Sikh Light Infantry/19th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Sepoy Happy Singh, The Sikh Light Infantry/19th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous)

Army

Sepoy Yogendra Kumar, The Mahar Regiment/first Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Rifleman Ramesh Singh Dhami, 3rd Battalion The Jammu And Kashmir Rifles

Army

Rifleman Rupen Pradhan, 3rd Battalion The Jammu And Kashmir Rifles

Army

Rifleman Surinder Kumar, The Jammu And Kashmir Rifles/3rd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Rifleman Pradeep Kumar, The Rajputana Rifles/9th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Rifleman Mandeep Singh Rawat, The Garhwal Rifles/36th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous)

Army

Rifleman Preetam Singh, 6th Battalion The Garhwal Rifles

Army

Rifleman Rayees Ah Lone, The Jammu And Kashmir Light Infantry/50th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Rifleman Ningthoujam Subhachandra Singh, 31st Battalion The Assam Rifles (posthumous)

Army

Grenadier Karam Chand, 5th Battalion The Grenadiers

Army

Paratrooper Vikram Singh Mehta, 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)

Army

Paratrooper Rajendra Singh, 9th Battalion The Parachute Regiument (special Forces)

Army

Paratrooper Naseeb Kumar, 10th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)

Army

Paratrooper Gopal Singh, 10th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)

Army

Paratrooper Tarung Sitang, 9th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)

Army

Sowar Kishan Singh, The Armoured Corps/55th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous)

Army

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Signalman Manvendra Singh, The Corps Of Signals/3rd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Sapper P Madhu, The Corps Of Engineers/first Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Sapper P Babu, The Mahar Regiment/first Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Sapper Rahul Chavan, The Engineer Regiment/first Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles

Army

Nao Sena Medal (gallantry) Group Captain Saumitra Tamaskar, Flying (pilot)

Air Force

Wing Commander Pranav Raj, Flying (pilot)

Air Force

Wing Commander Amit Ranjan, Flying (pilot)

Air Force

Squadron Leader Rahul Basoya, Flying (pilot)

Air Force

Squadron Leader Pankaj Arvind Bhujade, Flying (pilot)

Air Force

Squadron Leader B Karthik Narayan Reddy, Flying (pilot)

Air Force

Squadron Leader Shashank Singh, Flying (pilot)

Air Force

Yudh Seva Medal Air Commodore Sunil Kashinath Vidhate, AVSM VM Flying (pilot)

Air Force

Group Captain Yeshpal Singh Negi, VM VSM Flying (pilot)

Air Force.

Group Captain Hemant Kumar, Flying (pilot)

Air Force

Group Captain Hansel Joseph Sequeira, Flying (pilot)

Air Force

Squadron Leader Minty Aggarwal, Administration/fighter Controller

Air Force

In addition, President Ram Nath Kovind has also awarded one President's Tatrakshak Medal (Distinguished Service), five Tatrakshak Medals (Gallantry) and two Tatrakshak Medal (Meritorious Service) to the following Indian Coast Guard personnel for their act of conspicuous gallantry and distinguished/meritorious service.

The detailed list of the awardees is as follows:

(a) President's Tatrakshak Medal (Distinguished Service)

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(i) IG Thekkumpurath Prabhakaran Sadanandan, TM (4017-D).

(b) Tatrakshak Medal (Gallantry)

(i) DIG Yoginder Dhaka (0420-D).

(ii) Comdt Anurup Singh (0620-J).

(iii) Dy Comdt Utkersh Sharma (1189-C).

(iv) Satish, P/Adh(RP), 2816-Z.

(v) Trinatha Behera, U/Adh(R), 03608-Z.

(c) Tatrakshak Medal (Meritorious Service)

(i) IG Maneesh Vishal Pathak (0241-V).

(ii) DIG Neeraj Tiwari (0269-L).

These awards are being given to the personnel of Indian Coast Guard on Republic Day and Independence Day every year, since January 26, 1990 onwards.