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
Army
(posthumous)
Shri Harshpal Singh, Dy Commandant - CRPF.
Vir Chakra
Air
Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, Flying (Pilot)
Force.

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 Shaurya Chakra
Army
Lieutenant Colonel Ajay Singh Kushwah, The Jammu And Kashmir Rifles/3rd Battalion
The Rashtriya Rifles
Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal, The Corps Of Electronic And Mechanical
Army
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)
Sepoy Brajesh Kumar, The Punjab Regiment/22nd Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles
Army
(posthumous)
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
Army.
Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous)
Amit Singh Rana Navy
Shri Sable Dnyaneshwar Shriram, Constable CRPF
Shri Zaker Hussain, Constable CRPF
Shri Ashiq Hussain Malik, Special Police Official (posthumous) MHA
J&K
Shri Subash Chander, Head Constable
MHA
Shri Imran Hussain Tak, Sub Inspector (posthumous) MHA

Bar To Sena Medal (gallantry)

Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, Sena Medal Army
Brigade Of The Guards/21st Battalion
The Rashtriya Rifles
Major K Naveen Reddy, Sena Medal The Army
Corps Of Engineers/42nd Battalion The
Rashtriya Rifles
Major Sagar Prakash Pardeshi, Sena Army
Medal The Armoured Corps/22nd
Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles
Major Tasou Prao, Sena Medal The Army
Jammu And Kashmir Rifles/3rd Battalion
The Rashtriya Rifles
. Major Md Sahwaj Alam, Sena Medal The Army
Assam Regiment/42nd Battalion The
Rashtriya Rifles
Major Kaustubh Prakashkumar Rane, Army
Sena Medal The Garhwal Rifles/36th
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 Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles
(posthumous)
. Major Manish Kumar Singh, Sena Medal Army
The Engineer Regiment/53rd Battalion
The Rashtriya Rifles
Sepoy Sunil Kumar, Sena Medal 20th Army
Battalion The Jat Regiment
Sena Medal(gallantry)
Lieutenant Colonel Rajesh Choudhary 3rd Army
Battalion The Parachute Regiment
(special Forces)
. Lieutenant Colonel Bhagwan Singh Army
Bisht The Parachute Regiment/31st
Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles
. Lieutenant Colonel Punyabachi Mohanty Army
9th Battalion The Parachute Regiment
(special Forces)
Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Raza Army
Israil 9th Battalion The Parachute
Regiment (special Forces)
Lieutenant Colonel Amrendra Prasad Army
Dwivedi The Assam Regiment/42nd
Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles
. Lieutenant Thaiba Simon First Battalion Army
The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)
Major Sandeep Washisht The Parachute Army
Regiment/31st Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
6. Major Jaswinder Singh, The Punjab Army
Regiment/53rd Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Major Vikas Katoch, The Jammu And Army
Kashmir Rifles/52nd Battalion The
Rashtriya Rifles
Major Revinder Bhakher, 9th Battalion Army
The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)
Major Udayan Thakur, The Army Service Army
Corps/50th Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Major Vijesh Kumar, The Mahar Army
Regiment/first Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Major Sachin Kumar Agarwal, The Mahar Army
Regiment/30th Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Major Chitresh Bisht, The Corps Of Army
Engineers/55th Engineer Regiment
(posthumous)

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 . Major Kh Shem, The Jat Regiment/5th Army
Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles
Major Ashish Kumar, 4th Battalion The Army
Parachute Regiment (special Forces)
Major Happy Charak, 9th Battalion The Army
Rajputana Rifles
Major Yogesh Pandey, The Corps Of Army
Engineers/9th Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Major Laxman Singh, The Mechanized Army
Infantry/9th Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Major Patharkar Anand Sharad, Brigade Army
Of The Guards/50th Battalion The
Rashtriya Rifles
Major Javalkar Vaibhav Pramod, The Army
Armoured Corps/55th Battalion The
Rashtriya Rifles
Major Soham Bhattacharjee, The Corps Army
Of Engineers/first Battalion The
Rashtriya Rifles
Major Shakti Singh, 23rd Battalion The Army
Parachute Regiment
Major Inder Preet Singh, The Armoured Army
Corps/22nd Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Captain Shiv Kumar Sharma, 9th Army
Battalion The Parachute Regiment
(special Forces)
Captain Kunal Kumar, 21st Battalion The Army
Parachute Regiment (special Forces)
Captain Prateek Ranjangaonkar, The Army
Assam Regiment/42nd Battalion The
Rashtriya Rifles
Captain Saurabh Patni, The Corps Of Army
Signals/55th Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Captain Ashish Gedion Paudel, 3rd Army
Battalion The Parachute Regiment
(special Forces)
Subedar Trilok Singh, 3rd Battalion The Army
Jammu And Kashmir Rifles
Naib Subedar Tara Chand, 16th Battalion Army
The Assam Rifles
Naib Subedar Ravinder Singh, First Army
Battalion The Parachute Regiment
(special Forces)

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 Naib Subedar Jai Dev 9th Battalion The Army
Parachute Regiment (special Forces)
Battery Havildar Major Hans Raj, The Army
Corps Of Artillery/66th Medium
Regiment
Havildar Sandeep Malik, 12th Battalion Army
The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)
Havildar Balinder Singh, 4th Battalion Army
The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)
Havildar Baljeet, The Mechanised Army
Infantry/50th Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Havildar Bhupendra Singh, 23rd Army
Battalion The Parachute Regiment
Havildar Ajay Kumar Rana, The Punjab Army
Regiment/53rd Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Havildar Sheo Ram, The Grenadiers/55th Army
Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles
(posthumous)
Havildar Rakesh Kumar, The Jat Army
Regiment/34th Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Havildar Javid Ahmad Chopan, 9th Army
Battalion The Parachute Regiment
(special Forces)
Lance Havildar Vijay Kumar, 23rd Army
Battalion The Parachute Regiment
(posthumous)
Lance Havildar Sandeep Kumar, 23rd Army
Battalion The Parachute Regiment
Naik Ashwani Kumar, 9th Battalion The Army
Parachute Regiment (special Forces)
Naik Jankar Singh, The Jammu And Army
Kashmir Rifles/3rd Battalion The
Rashtriya Rifles
Naik Sunny Thakur, The Mechanized Army
Infantry/42nd Battalion Mechanished
Naik Ramesh Kumar, 20th Battalion The Army
Jat Regiment
Naik Narendra Kumar, The Jat Army
Regiment/5th Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Naik Santosh Singh, 9th Battalion The Army
Parachute Regiment (special Forces)
Lance Naik Sombir, 23rd Battalion The Army
Parachute Regiment

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 Lance Naik Jagtar Singh, The Punjab Army
Regiment/22nd Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Lance Naik Surendra Singh, 4th Battalion Army
The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)
Lance Naik Anuj Kumar, The Mahar Army
Regiment/first Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Sepoy Kulwinder Singh, The Mechanized Army
Infantry/42nd Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Sepoy Jagmohan Singh, The Mechanized Army
Infantry/42nd Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Sepoy Samaresh Dey, The Mechanized Army
Infantry/50th Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Sepoy Suhail Singh Saini, The Army
Mechanized Infantry/42nd Battalion The
Rashtriya Rifles
Sepoy S Vigi Bhaskar, 12th Battalion The Army
Madras Regiment
Grenadier Tawseef Yousuf, The Army
Grenadiers/55th Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Grenadier Ajay Kumar, The Army
Grenadiers/55th Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles (posthumous)
Sepoy Penta Nithin Paul, 24th Battalion Army
The Maratha Light Infantry
Sepoy Sunil, The Jat Regiment/34th Army
Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles
Sepoy Rinku, The Jat Regiment/34th Army
Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles
Sepoy Sushil Singh Kalakoti, The Kumaon Army
Regiment/50th Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Sepoy Rajveer Singh Yadav, The Kumaon Army
Regiment/50th Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Sepoy Pankaj Boro, The Assam Army
Regiment/42nd Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles.

Sepoy Rahul Das, The Assam Army

Regiment/42nd Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles

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 Sepoy Gulshan Singh, The Sikh Light Army
Infantry/19th Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Sepoy Happy Singh, The Sikh Light Army
Infantry/19th Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles (posthumous)
Sepoy Yogendra Kumar, The Mahar Army
Regiment/first Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Rifleman Ramesh Singh Dhami, 3rd Army
Battalion The Jammu And Kashmir Rifles
Rifleman Rupen Pradhan, 3rd Battalion Army
The Jammu And Kashmir Rifles
Rifleman Surinder Kumar, The Jammu Army
And Kashmir Rifles/3rd Battalion The
Rashtriya Rifles
Rifleman Pradeep Kumar, The Rajputana Army
Rifles/9th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles
Rifleman Mandeep Singh Rawat, The Army
Garhwal Rifles/36th Battalion The
Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous)
Rifleman Preetam Singh, 6th Battalion Army
The Garhwal Rifles
Rifleman Rayees Ah Lone, The Jammu Army
And Kashmir Light Infantry/50th
Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles
Rifleman Ningthoujam Subhachandra Army
Singh, 31st Battalion The Assam Rifles
(posthumous)
Grenadier Karam Chand, 5th Battalion Army
The Grenadiers
Paratrooper Vikram Singh Mehta, 3rd Army
Battalion The Parachute Regiment
(special Forces)
Paratrooper Rajendra Singh, 9th Army
Battalion The Parachute Regiument
(special Forces)
Paratrooper Naseeb Kumar, 10th Army
Battalion The Parachute Regiment
(special Forces)
Paratrooper Gopal Singh, 10th Battalion Army
The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)
Paratrooper Tarung Sitang, 9th Battalion Army
The Parachute Regiment (special Forces)
Sowar Kishan Singh, The Armoured Army
Corps/55th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles
(posthumous)

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 Signalman Manvendra Singh, The Corps Army
Of Signals/3rd Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Sapper P Madhu, The Corps Of Army
Engineers/first Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Sapper P Babu, The Mahar Army
Regiment/first Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Sapper Rahul Chavan, The Engineer Army
Regiment/first Battalion The Rashtriya
Rifles
Nao Sena Medal (gallantry)
Group Captain Saumitra Tamaskar, Air Force
Flying (pilot)
Wing Commander Pranav Raj, Flying Air Force
(pilot)
Wing Commander Amit Ranjan, Flying Air Force
(pilot)
Squadron Leader Rahul Basoya, Flying Air Force
(pilot)
Squadron Leader Pankaj Arvind Bhujade, Air Force
Flying (pilot)
Squadron Leader B Karthik Narayan Air Force
Reddy, Flying (pilot)
Squadron Leader Shashank Singh, Flying Air Force
(pilot)
Yudh Seva Medal
Air Commodore Sunil Kashinath Vidhate, Air Force
AVSM VM Flying (pilot)
Group Captain Yeshpal Singh Negi, VM Air Force.
VSM Flying (pilot)
Group Captain Hemant Kumar, Flying Air Force
(pilot)
Group Captain Hansel Joseph Sequeira, Air Force
Flying (pilot)
Squadron Leader Minty Aggarwal, Air Force
Administration/fighter Controller
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.

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