President Droupadi Murmu Confers 105 Distinguished Service Decorations At Defence Investiture Ceremony 2026 Phase II

NEW DELHI, JUNE 29, 2026 — In a grand ceremony highlighting unparalleled devotion to duty and exceptional military service, the President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, conferred 105 Distinguished Service Decorations on personnel from the Indian Armed Forces and the Indian Coast Guard during the Phase-II of the Defence Investiture Ceremony 2026 at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi. These prestigious honors included 07 Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medals, 30 Param Vishisht Seva Medals, 12 Uttam Yudh Seva Medals, and 56 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals, awarded to acknowledge exemplary service of the highest order across the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard.

The highly prestigious Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal was conferred upon seven distinguished officers who demonstrated exceptional strategic leadership in operational areas. The honored recipients are Lieutenant General Pratik Sharma of the Madras Regiment, Headquarters Northern Command; Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor of the Flying (Pilot) branch; Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai of the Kumaon Regiment, Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Army); and Air Marshal Awadhesh Kumar Bharti of the Flying (Pilot) branch. Additionally, the honor was bestowed posthumously or upon distinguished retired officers, including Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh, Air Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari, and Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra.

The Param Vishisht Seva Medal was awarded to thirty eminent leaders for their lifetime of distinguished service. The list includes Vice Admiral (now Admiral) Krishna Swaminathan; Lieutenant General Manjinder Singh of the Infantry; Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan; Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar; Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit; Air Marshal Tejinder Singh; Air Marshal Seethepalli Shrinivas; Lieutenant General Viresh Pratap Singh Kaushik; Lieutenant General Michael Anthony Jude Fernandez of the Corps of Engineers; Lieutenant General Navneet Singh Sarna of the Regiment of Artillery; Lieutenant General Rashim Bali; Lieutenant General Manish Mohan Erry; Lieutenant General Harjeet Singh Sahi; Lieutenant General Dheerendra Singh Kushwah; and Lieutenant General Sumer Ivan D’Cunha of the Army Air Defence.

Continuing the roll of Param Vishisht Seva Medal recipients, the President also decorated Lieutenant General Prit Pal Singh of the Armoured Corps; Surgeon Vice Admiral Arti Sarin; Vice Admiral Atul Anand; Air Marshal Vijay Kumar Garg (Retired); Air Marshal Surat Singh (Retired); Lieutenant General Arvind Walia (Retired); Lieutenant General Rakesh Kapoor (Retired); Lieutenant General Gajendra Joshi (Retired); Lieutenant General Jagmohan Singh Sidana (Retired); Lieutenant General K Vinod Kumar (Retired); Air Marshal Sunil Kashinath Vidhate (Retired); Major General Gurpreet Singh of the Regiment of Artillery; Major General Pankaj Malhotra of the Brigade of the Guards; Major General Charnjit Singh Mann of the Armoured Corps; and Major General Roopesh Mehta of the Regiment of Artillery.

The Uttam Yudh Seva Medal was bestowed upon twelve officers for high-order operational duties. The awardees are Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth of Headquarters Southern Command; Air Marshal Manish Khanna; Lieutenant General Prashant Srivastava of the Parachute Regiment, Headquarters 15 Corps; Lieutenant General Rajan Sharawat of the Garhwal Rifles, Headquarters 9 Corps; Lieutenant General Abhijit S Pendharkar of the Assam Regiment, Headquarters 3 Corps; Lieutenant General Gambhir Singh of the Garhwal Rifles, Headquarters 4 Corps; Lieutenant General Prasanna Kishore Mishra of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, Headquarters 16 Corps; Vice Admiral Tarun Sobti; Air Marshal Praveen Keshav Vohra; Air Commodore Ajay Kumar Chaudhary; Air Commodore Prabhat Malik; and Group Captain Kamran Nazeer.

The vast list of fifty-six Ati Vishisht Seva Medal recipients commenced with senior leadership from the Air Force and Army, recognized for outstanding devotion to duty. The decorated officers include Air Marshal Tarun Chaudhry; Lieutenant General Neeraj Varshney of the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers; Lieutenant General Vikas Rohella of the Corps of Engineers; Lieutenant General Harbinder Singh Vandra of the Corps of Signals; Lieutenant General Mohinder Pal Singh; Lieutenant General Ranjeet Singh of the Regiment of Artillery; Lieutenant General Ajay Kumar; Lieutenant General Shamsher Singh Virk; Lieutenant General Aditya Vikram Singh Rathee of the Brigade of the Guards; Lieutenant General Harpal Singh of the Corps of Engineers; Lieutenant General Chiyyarath Gopalan Muralidharan of the Army Medical Corps; Lieutenant General Puneet Ahuja of the Brigade of the Guards; Vice Admiral Anand Y Sardesai; Vice Admiral Rajat Kapoor; Vice Admiral Srinivas Kudaravalli; Vice Admiral Susheel Menon; Vice Admiral Anil Jaggi; Surgeon Rear Admiral (now Surgeon Vice Admiral) Vivek Hande; and Air Marshal Mehtab Singh Deswal.

Further recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal featured esteemed commanders and retired veterans across all wings, including Air Marshal Kondenkolangara Aboo Ahamed Sanjeeb; Air Vice Marshal (now Air Marshal) Settypalli Srinivasa Rao; Additional Director General Donny Michael of the Indian Coast Guard; Surgeon Vice Admiral Kavita Sahai (Retired); Major General Sudhir Kumar Sharma of the Regiment of Artillery; Major General Sujeet Shivaji Patil; Major General Gurpreet Singh Choudhry of the Army Air Defence; Major General Ashish Shah of the Armoured Corps; Major General Amar Ramdasani; Major General Vikas Choudhary; Major General Tarun Agrawal; Major General Voodev Parida; Major General Sumit Mehta of the Armoured Corps; Major General Vikrant Suresh Deshpande; Major General Kuleshwar Singh Dhadwal; Major General Vivek Narang; Major General Paranvir Singh Punia; Major General Kolankara Mohan Nair; and Major General Arindam Saha.

The final cohort of Ati Vishisht Seva Medal awardees represented a comprehensive cross-section of military brilliance, ensuring every service domain was celebrated. The remaining honors were conferred upon Major General Mahipal Singh Rathore; Major General Awinder Pal Singh Bal; Major General Dhananjay Joshi; Major General Mandeep Singh; Rear Admiral Nirbhay Bapna; Air Vice Marshal Kaushik Chatterjee; Air Vice Marshal Sanjeev Vashishth; Air Vice Marshal Vadapalli Ravi Satyanarayan Raju; Air Vice Marshal Sanjeev Kumar Taliyan; Air Vice Marshal Manmeet Singh; Air Vice Marshal Manu Midha; Major General Rajesh Arun Moghe (Retired); Major General Sandeep Kumar (Retired); Major General Parag Anant Deshmukh (Retired); Air Vice Marshal Satish Kumar Mathur (Retired); Air Vice Marshal Nand Kumar Nair (Retired); Brigadier Pawan Dhull of the Army Medical Corps; and Subedar H Hokato Sema of the 9 Assam Regiment.