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Gallantry Awards 2019: President Kovind honours brave defence personnel
President Ram Nath Kovind presented the Gallantry Awards and other distinguished service decorations. He presented these awards in the Defence Investiture Ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the national capital on Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala sitharaman were also present at the ceremony. And most importantly Chief of Army Staff Bipin Rawat was conferred with the Param Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished services.
The personnel of the Indian Army got one Ashoka Chakra, two Kirti Chakra, and nine Shaurya Chakra honours. These included three posthumous awards also, one each for the three categories of honours. The President also conferred fifteen ParamVishishtSeva Medals, one Uttam Yudh Seva Medals and twenty-five AtiVishisht Seva Medals to senior officers of the Armed Forces for distinguished service of an exceptional order.
Why are gallantry awards conferred
The Government of India instituted theses awards to honour the acts of bravery and sacrifice of the personnel of the Armed Forces.
Types of Gallantry awards
- Gallantry in the Face of Enemy
- Gallantry Other than in the Face of Enemy
First Category of Gallantry Awards Comprises of the following Awards
- Param Vir Chakra (PVC)
- Mahavir Chakra (MVC)
- Vir Chakra
Second Category of Gallantry Awards Comprises of the following Awards
- Ashok Chakra
- Kirti Chakra
- Shaurya Chakra
The government announces these awards twice a year, firstly on the occasion of republic day and the other on the occasion of independence day. These awards came into effect from the 15th August 1947. On 4th January 1952, Government of India also instituted other three Gallantry Awards i.e. Ashoka Chakra Class-I, Ashoka Chakra Class-II and Ashoka Chakra Class-III. Later, the government renamed these awards as Ashoka Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra.
President Ram Nath Kovind presenting ‘Param Vishist Seva Medal’ to Army Chief General Bipin Rawat.
