India honours Op Sindoor heroes with gallantry awards

New Delhi: India on Thursday honoured the acts of gallantry by armed forces personnel and acknowledged the contributions of senior military leadership involved in the planning and execution of Operation Sindoor, as part of its annual list of military awards released on the eve of the 79th Independence Day.

Among those recognised were Indian Air Force pilots who carried out precision strikes on terrorist infrastructure and military targets inside Pakistan, as well as personnel operating the S-400 air defence systems, which played a pivotal role during the May 7 to 10 hostilities between the two countries.

Vice Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari, Deputy Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Awadhesh Kumar Bharti, Indian Army's DGMO Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai and Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Pratik Sharma are among the top military officers conferred the Sarvottam Yudh Seva medal. 

Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor and Air Marshal Jeetendra Misra, heading the South Western Air Command and the Western Air Command respectively, have also been conferred the Sarvottam Yudh Seva medal. Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh, who as the Flag Officer Commanding in Chief of Western Naval Command, played a critical role in the deployment of naval assets following the Pahalgam attack, has also been named for the Sarvottam Yudh Seva medal.

Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Tarun Sobti, who also played a major role in finalising the Navy's deployment strategy in the aftermath of the Pahalgam strike, has been conferred the Uttam Yudh Seva medal.

As many as nine fighter pilots of the Indian Air Force have been conferred the prestigious Vayu Chakra.

President Droupadi Murmu approved 127 Gallantry awards and 40 Distinguished Service awards to the armed forces and central armed police forces personnel on the eve of Independence Day. These include four Kirti Chakras, 15 Vir Chakras, 16 Shaurya Chakras, two Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry), 58 Sena Medals (Gallantry), six Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry) and 26 Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry).

The awards also included seven Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medals, nine Uttam Yudh Seva Medals and 24 Yudh Seva Medals. The President has also approved 290 Mention-in-Despatches, out of which 115 are from the Indian Army, five from the Indian Navy, and 167 are from the Indian Air Force.