New Delhi: The President has conferred two Kirti Chakras and 10 Shaurya Chakras, including one awarded posthumously, to the personnel of the Indian Army & Navy ahead if the Republic Day.
Beyond the top-tier Chakra series, the President also approved 1 Bar to Sena Medal (Gallantry) and 44 Sena Medals (Gallantry), five of which were awarded posthumously.
To honour leadership and long-term excellence, the list also includes 19 Param Vishisht Seva Medals (PVSM), 4 Uttam Yudh Seva Medals (UYSM), 35 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals (AVSM), 7 Yudh Seva Medals (YSM), 2 Bar to Sena Medals (Distinguished), 43 Sena Medals (Distinguished), and 85 Vishisht Seva Medals (VSM).
Additionally, 81 Mention-in-Despatches were approved for personnel serving in critical operations such as Operation Rakshak, Operation Snow Leopard, Operation Hifazat, Operation Orchid, and Operation Meghdoot.
Kirti Chakra
Instituted in 1952, Kirti Chakra is India’s second-highest peacetime gallantry award and is awarded for conspicuous bravery or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield. Following is the list of the awardees this year:
Major Arshdeep Singh (1 Assam Rifles): On 14 May, 2025, Major Singh was leading a special patrol along the Indo-Myanmar Border. Suddenly, his team came under heavy and unprovoked fire from militants positioned on a high, dominating hill.
Showing no fear, he led a charge through thick, tangled bushes while being shot at from above. He personally took down several armed militants, including one who was carrying a rocket launcher (RPG). His quick thinking and leadership ensured that his team completed the mission with zero casualties.
Naib Subedar Doleshwar Subba (2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment – SF): During a dangerous counter-terrorist mission in the thick forests of Kishtwar on 11 April, 2025, Naib Subedar Subba found himself under heavy enemy fire.
Ignoring the danger to his own life, he moved forward to close the distance between himself and the attackers. He eliminated a high-level foreign terrorist at point-blank range and then successfully neutralised a second one, demonstrating incredible calmness and bravery under fire.
Shaurya Chakra
Instituted in 1952, Shaurya Chakra is the third-highest peacetime gallantry award and is awarded to civilians and military personnel for acts of courage and self-sacrifice.
Following is the list of awardees from the Indian Army:
Lieutenant Colonel Ghatage Aditya Shrikumar (21 Para SF): Between 11 and 13 July, 2025, he planned and led a surgical strike along the Indo-Myanmar border. His leadership led to the destruction of a fortified militant camp and the elimination of nine armed cadres, including the top leaders of a notorious anti-national group.
Major Anshul Baltoo (32 Assam Rifles): On 29 April, 2025, during a search operation in Assam’s Dima Hasao district, Major Baltoo faced a fierce gunfight. He personally took down an armed militant in a one-on-one engagement. His actions led his team to eliminate three militants in total and recover a large amount of weapons.
Major Shivkant Yadav (5 Para SF): On the night of 12–13 May, 2025, Major Yadav led his squad through the brutal terrain of Shopian. Under heavy fire, he chased down a group of terrorists and eliminated a high-priority Category ‘A’ terrorist in a close-range fight, ensuring the rest of the group was also taken out.
Major Vivek (42 Rashtriya Rifles): During a mission in Pulwama on 15 May, 2025, Major Vivek put the safety of civilians first. While under intense fire, he held the security line and personally neutralised a dangerous Category ‘A+’ terrorist in a daring close-combat encounter, preventing any escape and keeping his soldiers safe.
Major Leishangthem Deepak Singh (11 Para SF): Major Singh led a high-risk mission to rescue civilians who had been kidnapped. He charged toward the captors under heavy fire, took down the terrorists at close range, and successfully brought an innocent civilian back to safety.
Captain Yogender Singh Thakur (6 Para SF): On 21 July, 2025, Captain Thakur led an ambush in the Udhampur district. Despite being shot at, he outmanoeuvred the enemy and neutralised a hardcore Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist in a face-to-face fight.
Subedar P H Moses (1 Assam Rifles): Serving as the second-in-command of a patrol on 14 May, 2025, Subedar Moses crawled through the dirt under heavy enemy fire to reach a better firing position. From there, he accurately took down several militants, ensuring his entire team remained unharmed.
Lance Dafadar Baldev Chand (4 Rashtriya Rifles) (Posthumous): On 19 September, 2025, in the high mountains of Kishtwar, Lance Dafadar Chand engaged terrorists in hand-to-hand combat. He managed to disarm one attacker but was fatally wounded during the struggle. He continued to fight until the very end, making the ultimate sacrifice for his country.
Rifleman Manglem Sang Vaiphei (3 Assam Rifles): On 9 June, 2025, while working as a lead scout during a mission in Manipur, Rifleman Vaiphei stood his ground under heavy fire. He quickly took down three armed militants, protecting the rest of his column from an ambush.
Rifleman Dhurba Jyoti Dutta (33 Assam Rifles): While returning from flood relief work in Manipur on 19 September, 2025, his vehicle was ambushed. Even though he was shot multiple times, Rifleman Dutta refused to stop. He drove the vehicle through a hail of bullets to get out of the “killing zone,” saving the lives of the eight soldiers with him.
Gallantry awards for Navy personnel
Lieutenant Commander Dilna K (Shaurya Chakra): Between October 2024 and May 2025, she took part in a historic two-person sailing trip around the world on the INSV Tarini. She sailed over 25,600 miles through the world’s most dangerous oceans.
In the Pacific Ocean, the boat suffered a total power failure, forcing her to navigate the vessel manually in total isolation. While crossing the stormy Drake Passage, the boat tilted so far it nearly flipped over, but her skill and courage saved the ship. She and her teammate also became the first Indians to reach Point Nemo, the most remote place on Earth, by sailboat.
Lieutenant Commander Roopa A (Shaurya Chakra): Over the same 238-day voyage, Lieutenant Commander Roopa showed world-class seamanship. When the power failed in the middle of the Pacific, leaving them with no modern navigation tools, she used traditional methods to keep the mission alive.
She led the team through violent storms and extreme waves that threatened to sink the vessel, showing steady leadership in life-and-death moments.
Commander Harpreet Singh (Nao Sena Medal – Gallantry): On 21 January, 2025, while commanding the training ship INS Tarangini near Sri Lanka, Commander Singh faced a nightmare scenario. In the middle of a massive storm with 45-knot winds and huge waves, his ship’s port engine failed.
The ship began drifting toward other large vessels in a busy shipping lane. He quickly used the little power he had left to avoid a collision. Earlier that same day, the naval ship had already suffered an engine failure, leaving it with no motor power at all.
Instead of giving up, he used a few small sails to catch the wind and current, navigating the ship for seven gruelling days until they reached safety in Kochi with no injuries or damage to the ship.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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