President Murmu Confers 92 Distinguished Service Awards at Defence Investiture Ceremony 2025

In a prestigious ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhawan on June 4, 2025, President Droupadi Murmu presented 92 Distinguished Service Decorations to personnel from the Indian Armed Forces, Indian Coast Guard, and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) during Phase-II of the Defence Investiture Ceremony 2025. The awards—comprising the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM), Uttam Yudh Seva Medal (UYSM), and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM)—honor outstanding service, leadership, and commitment across both peacetime and conflict scenarios. This year’s event comes amid India’s heightened focus on defense modernization and strategic readiness along sensitive borders.

Why in News?

On June 4, 2025, President Droupadi Murmu awarded 92 Distinguished Service Decorations to senior personnel of the Indian Armed Forces, Indian Coast Guard, and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) at the Defence Investiture Ceremony 2025 (Phase-II) held at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi. This major event underscores India’s recognition of military leadership and dedication amidst ongoing border challenges and defense modernization efforts.

Objective of the Ceremony

• To honor distinguished military service during peacetime and wartime.
• To recognize exceptional leadership, devotion to duty, and strategic contributions to national security.
• To boost morale across the Indian defense ecosystem.

Awards Presented

Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) – 30 Awardees

• India’s highest peacetime military award for distinguished service of the most exceptional order.

Notable recipients include,

• Lt Gen Manoj Kumar Katiyar, Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth, Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh, Air Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari, among others.

Uttam Yudh Seva Medal (UYSM) – 5 Awardees

• Conferred for distinguished service during conflict or hostilities.

Notable recipients include,

• Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, Air Marshal Sujeet Pushpakar Dharkar (Retd), and others.

Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) – 57 Awardees

• Awarded for high-order distinguished service during peacetime.
• Includes a wide range of ranks from Maj Generals to Air Vice Marshals and Rear Admirals.
• Services covered: Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and BRO.

Background and Significance

• The Defence Investiture Ceremony is held in two phases each year by the Ministry of Defence.
• Awards recognize both active-duty and retired officers, acknowledging decades of exemplary military contributions.
• The 2025 ceremony aligns with the government’s major defense priorities:
• ₹6.21 lakh crore allocated in Union Budget 2024–25 for defense.
• Focus on border infrastructure in areas like the Depsang Plains along the LAC with China.
• Emphasis on surveillance, military engineering, and logistics in high-altitude warfare zones.

Broader Impact

• Strengthens the morale of the armed forces by officially acknowledging their sacrifices and leadership.
• Highlights the comprehensive role of Indian defense forces beyond combat—such as in engineering, medical support, logistics, and disaster response.
• Reinforces the national strategy of honoring merit across ranks and services.

Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) Recipients

1. Lt Gen Manoj Kumar Katiyar (Army)
2. Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth (Army)
3. Lt Gen Ram Chander Tiwari (Army)
4. Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta (Army)
5. Lt Gen Devendra Sharma (Army)
6. Lt Gen Dinesh Singh Rana (Army)
7. Lt Gen Pratik Sharma (Army)
8. Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh (Navy)
9. Vice Admiral Rajesh Sudhakar Pendharkar (Navy)
10. Vice Admiral Suraj Berry (Navy)
11. Vice Admiral Srinivas Vennam (Navy)
12. Air Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari (Air Force)
13. Air Marshal Balakrishnan Manikantan (Air Force)
14. Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor (Air Force)
15. Lt Gen Karanbir Singh Brar (Army)
16. Lt Gen Adosh Kumar (Army)
17. Lt Gen Padam Singh Shekhawat (Army)
18. Lt Gen Amardeep Singh Aujla (Army)
19. Lt Gen Vivek Kashyap (Army)
20. Lt Gen VM Bhuvana Krishnan (Army)
21. Lt Gen Vineet Gaur (Army)
22. Lt Gen Raghavachari Santhana Raman (Army)
23. Lt Gen Raghu Srinivasan (Army)
24. Lt Gen Shankar Narayan (Army)
25. Air Marshal Saju Balakrishnan (Retd) (Air Force)
26. Lt Gen Paramjit Singh Minhas (Retd) (Army)
27. Lt Gen Preet Mohindera Singh (Retd) (Army)
28. Air Marshal Chakalayil R Mohan (Retd) (Air Force)
29. Air Marshal Rajesh Kumar Anand (Retd) (Air Force)
30. Brig Sanjay Kumar Mishra (Army)

Uttam Yudh Seva Medal (UYSM) Recipients

1. Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai (Army)
2. Lt Gen Zubin A Minwalla (Army)
3. Lt Gen Hitesh Bhalla (Army)
4. Air Marshal Sujeet Pushpakar Dharkar (Retd) (Air Force)
5. Air Marshal Pankaj Mohan Sinha (Retd) (Air Force)

Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) Recipients

1. Lt Gen Pushpendra Pal Singh (Army)
2. Lt Gen Sandeep Jain (Army)
3. Lt Gen Vijay Bhaskaran Nair (Army)
4. Lt Gen Rajesh Pushkar (Army)
5. Lt Gen Rahul Raghavendra Singh (Army)
6. Lt Gen Sadhna S Nair (Army)
7. Lt Gen Suresh Chandra Tandi (Army)
8. Lt Gen Shrinjay Pratap Singh (Army)
9. Lt Gen Rajagopal C Srikanth (Army)
10. Lt Gen Mukesh Chadha (Army)
11. Lt Gen Rajiv Kumar (Army)
12. Lt Gen Bhavnish Kumar (Army)
13. Lt Gen Vineet Sharma (Army)
14. Lt Gen Divya Gaurav Misra (Army)
15. Lt Gen Shivinder Singh (Army)
16. Lt Gen Devinder Pal Singh (Army)
17. Vice Adm Lochan Singh Pathania (Navy)
18. Vice Adm Rajesh Dhankhar (Navy)
19. Vice Adm CR Praveen Nair (Navy)
20. Air Mshl V Rajasekhar (Air Force)
21. Air Mshl MS Sridhar (Air Force)
22. Air Mshl Sanjiv Ghuratia (Air Force)
23. Air Mshl PV Shivanand (Air Force)
24. DG Paramesh Sivamani (ICG)
25. Lt Gen Anil Kumar Samantara (Retd) (Army)
26. Lt Gen Sanjeev Kumar Singh (Retd) (Army)
27. Air Mshl Rajesh Vaidya (Retd) (Air Force)
28. Maj Gen Rohit Sawhney (Army)
29. Maj Gen Harsh Chhibber (Army)
30. Maj Gen Abhinaya Rai (Army)
31. Maj Gen M Khalid Zaki (Army)
32. Maj Gen Rajwant Singh (Army)
33. Maj Gen Manish Luthra (Army)
34. Maj Gen Rajesh Sethi (Army)
35. Maj Gen Neeraj Shukla (Army)
36. Maj Gen Balbir Singh (Army)
37. Maj Gen Madanraj Pande (Army)
38. Maj Gen Akaash Johar (Army)
39. Maj Gen Sameer Srivastava (Army)
40. Maj Gen Balachandran Nambiar (Army)
41. R Adm Sandeep Mehta (Navy)
42. R Adm Manish Sharma (Navy)
43. R Adm Manish Chadha (Navy)
44. R Adm Janak Bevli (Navy)
45. AVM Suhas P Bhandare (Air Force)
46. AVM Ajay Kumar Pan (Air Force)
47. AVM V Srinivas Choudary (Air Force)
48. AVM Venkat T Mare (Air Force)
49. AVM Manish Sahdev (Air Force)
50. AVM Anand Sondhi (Air Force)
51. Maj Gen Mukesh Aggarwal (Retd) (Army)
52. Maj Gen Abhay Dayal (Retd) (Army)
53. R Adm Cyril Thomas (Retd) (Navy)
54. AVM Niraj Nainwal (Retd) (Air Force)
55. AVM PTK Sreekumar (Retd) (Air Force)
56. AVM RV Ramkishore (Retd) (Air Force)
57. ADGBR George P Cherian (Retd) (BRO)