77th Republic Day: President Murmu approves Gallantry awards to 70 Armed Forces personnel

Indian President Droupadi Murmu approved the gallantry awards for 70 personnel from the Indian armed forces and the central armed police forces on the eve of the 77th Republic Day. The awards also included one Ashok Chakra to Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla. Shukla created history by becoming the first Indian to visit the International Space Station (ISS). The awards include: three Kirti Chakras, 13 Shaurya Chakras, including one posthumous award, one Bar to the Sena Medal (Gallantry), and 44 Sena Medals (Gallantry).

Meanwhile, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, the Indian Army officer who became a prominent face of the Operation SIndoor against Pakistan in 2025, has been named for the Vishisht Seva Meda. The president approved the gallantry awards for 70 personnel from the Indian armed forces and the central armed police forces on the eve of the 77th Republic Day. The awards also included one Ashok Chakra to Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla.

The President also approved 301 military decorations for the armed forces and other personnel. These include 30 Param Vishisht Seva Medals; four Uttam Yudh Seva Medals; 56 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals; nine Yudh Seva Medals; two Bar to Sena Medals (Distinguished); 43 Sena Medals (Distinguished); eight Nao Sena Medals (Distinguished); 14 Vayu Sena Medals (Distinguished); and 135 Vishisht Seva Medals.

Who is Col Sofiya Qureshi?

Qureshi became the first woman officer in 2016 to lead a contingent of the Indian Army in a multinational military exercise. She was born in 1974 to a military family in Gujarat’s Vadodara. She graduated with a master’s in Biochemistry from Maharaja Sayajirao University in 1997. Her grandfather was a religious teacher in the army, a statement issued by the state government last year noted.