President Approves 78 Gallantry Awards Ahead of Independence Day 2026: 13 Posthumous Honors for Armed Forces and CAPF Personnel

NEW DELHI — On the eve of India's 80th Independence Day, President Droupadi Murmu, who serves as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, approved 78 Gallantry Awards to personnel from the Indian Armed Forces and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in recognition of extraordinary courage, valor, and devotion to duty displayed during counter-terrorism, border defense, and high-risk operational missions.

The honors list includes four Kirti Chakras (including two posthumous), eighteen Shaurya Chakras (including four posthumous), and fifty-six Sena, Nao Sena, and Vayu Sena Medals, with a total of 13 awards conferred posthumously to brave personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.

The Ministry of Defence released the official citations, chronicling harrowing combat engagements across the high-altitude forward posts of Jammu and Kashmir, dense counter-insurgency jungle corridors in the Northeast, and anti-Naxal operational theaters in Central India.

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1. Breakdown of the 2026 Independence Day Gallantry Awards

The gallantry decorations approved by the President span the Tri-Services (Army, Navy, Air Force) as well as the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP):

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|             INDEPENDENCE DAY 2026 GALLANTRY AWARDS BREAKDOWN                |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Award Category                 | Total Conferred | Posthumous Conferred     |
|--------------------------------|-----------------|--------------------------|
| Kirti Chakra (Peacetime MVC)   | 04              | 02 (Posthumous)          |
| Shaurya Chakra (Peacetime VrC) | 18              | 04 (Posthumous)          |
| Bar to Sena Medal (Gallantry)  | 02              | 00                       |
| Sena Medal (Gallantry - Army)  | 44              | 06 (Posthumous)          |
| Nao Sena Medal (Navy)          | 04              | 00                       |
| Vayu Sena Medal (Air Force)    | 06              | 01 (Posthumous)          |
| TOTAL GALLANTRY DECORATIONS    | 78              | 13 (Posthumous)          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

In addition to the 78 gallantry awards, the President also approved 31 Mention-in-Despatches to personnel for significant operational contributions in various military and internal security missions.

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2. Acts of Conspicuous Valor: Kirti Chakra Recipients

The Kirti Chakra is India’s second-highest peacetime gallantry award, second only to the Ashok Chakra. Among the four awardees:

Major Arvind Sharma (Rashtriya Rifles / Parachute Regiment) — Posthumous

Major Sharma was awarded the Kirti Chakra posthumously for conspicuous bravery during a fierce counter-terrorist encounter in the dense forests of Kupwara district, Jammu & Kashmir. When his search column came under heavy automatic fire from well-entrenched foreign terrorists, Major Sharma crawled forward under intense fire, drew enemy fire toward himself to protect his trapped comrades, and eliminated two heavily armed terrorists in close-quarter combat before succumbing to bullet injuries.

Inspector Rakesh Kumar (CRPF CoBRA Battalion) — Posthumous

Leading a specialized anti-Maoist jungle strike team in the Abujhmad region of Chhattisgarh, Inspector Kumar spearheaded a daylight counter-ambush against an overwhelming force of armed insurgents. Despite sustaining severe shrapnel wounds from an improvised explosive device (IED), he continued directing fire and single-handedly neutralized an insurgent commander, ensuring the safe evacuation of his injured team members.

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3. Shaurya Chakra Citations: Courage in the Face of Fire

The Shaurya Chakra, awarded for gallantry other than in the face of the enemy on the battlefield, recognized 18 personnel across diverse operational scenarios:

• Captain Rohit Varma (Indian Army Aviation Corps): Successfully executed an emergency casualty evacuation of critically injured soldiers from a snow-bound, high-altitude outpost at 18,500 feet in Ladakh under extreme blizzard conditions and hostile line-of-sight monitoring.
• Wing Commander Ananya Sengupta (Indian Air Force): Exhibited exceptional flying skill and presence of mind when her fighter aircraft suffered a sudden mid-air bird strike and critical engine fire during a high-speed low-level tactical exercise, maneuvering the crippled jet away from densely populated civilian areas before executing a successful zero-altitude ejection.
• Lieutenant Commander Vikramaditya Rao (Indian Navy): Led a high-risk maritime interdiction operation in the Arabian Sea against an armed narcotics-smuggling vessel, boarding the hostile craft amidst heavy seas and neutralizing armed resistance.

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4. Modernizing the Defense Ecosystem

The gallantry citations also highlighted the growing effectiveness of indigenous defense technologies in active combat operations. Several awardees were commended for integrating tactical surveillance drones, thermal imaging scopes, and secure software-defined communications to execute precision operations with zero collateral damage.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commended the awardees, stating that their unparalleled devotion to duty and supreme sacrifice serve as an eternal inspiration for the entire nation, guaranteeing that India's sovereign territorial integrity remains unassailable.

The investiture ceremony for the formal presentation of these awards by the President will take place at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the coming months.