The National Bravery Awards 2016 has been conferred upon 25 children that include 13 boys and 12 girls. Among the 25 awards, four awards have been given posthumously.
- National Bravery Awards are given annually by the Government of India and the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW) to 25 Indian children for their “meritorious acts of bravery against all odds”.
The National Bravery Awards consist of five categories.
- The Bharat Award
- The Sanjay Chopra Award
- The Geeta Chopra Award
- The Bapu Gaidhani Award
- The General National Bravery Awards
The selection of the children is made by a high powered committee that contains representatives of various Ministries/Departments, non-governmental organisations as well as office bearers of Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW).
- The children will receive a medal, certificate and cash. They will receive their awards from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 23, 2017 prior to Republic Day and thereafter will participate in the Republic Day Parade.
1.Bharat Award Winners: Late Km. Tarh Peeju
Eight-year-old Late Km. Tarh Peeju of Arunachal Pradesh has been conferred the 2016 Bharat Award for sacrificing her life to save two of her friends from drowning.
2.Geeta Chopra Award Winners: Tejasweeta Pradhan and Shivani Gond
The prestigious Geeta Chopra Award has been conferred on 18-year-old Tejasweeta Pradhan and 17-year-old Shivani Gond both from West Bengal. They both showed immense courage to fearlessly help the police and the NGO in disclosing an International sex racket leading to the arrest of the mastermind in Delhi.
3.Sanjay Chopra Award Winners: Master Sumit Mamgain
15-year-old Master Sumit Mamgain of Uttarakhand has been conferred with the Sanjay Chopra Award for showing outstanding bravery in fighting a leopard to save his cousin.
4.Bapu Gaidhani Award Winners
i.Late Km. Roluahpuii
Thirteen-year-old Late Km. Roluahpuii of Mizoram has been conferred with Bapu Gaidhani Award as she sacrificed her life in her bold and selfless act of saving two girls from drowning.
ii.Late Km. H Lalhriatpuii- Bapu Gaidhani Award
Fourteen-year-old Late Km. H Lalhriatpuii of Mizoram have been given the Bapu Gaidhani as she sacrificed her life in an effort to save her cousin in a car accident.
iii.Master Tushar Verma
Fifteen-year-old Master Tushar Verma of Chhattisgarh has also been named for Bapu Gaidhani Award for risking his own life to extinguish fire in his neighbor’s shed and saved many cattle
5.General National Bravery Award Winners
- The recipients of General National Bravery Award include:
- Master Praful Sharma (Himachal Pradesh)
- Master Sonu Mali (Rajasthan)
- Km. Akshita Sharma (Delhi)
- Master Akshit Sharma (Delhi)
- Master Naman (Delhi)
- Km. Anshika Pandey (Uttar Pradesh)
- Km. Nisha Dilip Patil (Maharashtra)
- Km. Siya Vamansa Khode (Karnataka)
- Master Moirangthem Sadananda Singh (Manipur)
- Master Binil Manjaly (Kerala)
- Master Adithyan M.P. Pillai (Kerala)
- Master Akhil K. Shibu (Kerala)
- Km. Badarunnisa K.P. (Kerala)
- Master Tankeswar Pegu (Assam)
- Km. Neelam Dhruv (Chhattisgarh)
- Master Thanghilmang Lunkim (Nagaland)
- Master Mohan Sethy (Odisha)
- Late Km. Payal Devi (Jammu&Kashmir)
About the National Bravery Awards
i. The National Bravery Awards, instituted in 1957, are a set of awards given by the Government of India and the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW) to children who were between the ages of six to eighteen when they committed their acts of bravery.
ii. The award includes a medal, a certificate, and a cash prize. The Bharat Award winner gets a gold medal, while the rest get a silver medal.
iii. Each child is also given financial assistance by ICCW until they complete their schooling. Some state governments also provide financial assistance to them. Besides, ICCW provides financial assistance under its Indira Gandhi Scholarship Scheme to those undertaking professional courses such as engineering and medicine. Others are provided this assistance till they complete their graduation.
iv. The Government of India has reserved some seats for the awardees in medical and engineering colleges and polytechnics since 2009.
v. Since the inception of the scheme in 1957, the ICCW has given awards to 945 brave children, which include 669 boys and 276 girls