President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind approved 132 Awards to Armed Forces Personnel and members of Paramilitary Forces. President is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. There were 2 Kirti Chakras, 1 Vir Chakra, 14 Shaurya Chakras, 8 Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry), 90 Sena Medals (Gallantry), 5 Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry), 7 Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry) and 5 Yudh Seva Medals.
Kirti Chakra 2019
- About the award: It is awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle. It is awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, including posthumous awards. It is second in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry awards which comes after Ashoka Chakra and before Shaurya Chakra. It was established as the “Ashoka Chakra, Class II” by the President of India on 4 January 1952 (with effect from 15 August 1947). The statutes were revised and the decoration renamed on 27 January 1967.
- Medal design: The medal is made of standard silver and is circular in shape. The green ribbon is divided into three equal parts by two orange vertical lines.
- Awardees: Sapper Prakash Jadhav of the Rashtriya Rifles (posthumously) and Harshpal Singh, Dy Commandant of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were awarded Kirti Chakras 2019.
Vir Chakra 2019
- About the award: It is awarded for acts of gallantry in the presence of enemy, whether on land or at sea or in the air. It was established by the President of India on 26 January 1950 (with effect from 15 August 1947). It is given only to Military personnel.
- Medal design: The medal is made of standard silver with a five-pointed heraldic star embossed on it. The star shall have in the centre a Chakra and within the Chakra shall be a domed centre piece bearing the gilded State Emblem. The words ‘VirChakra’ is embossed both in Hindi and English on the reverse and the two versions are separated by two lotus flowers.
- Awardee: Wing Commander of Indian Air Force (IAF) Abhinandan Varthaman, who downed an enemy jet during an aerial combat with Pakistan in February 2019 and was held captive for 3 days, was conferred the Vir Chakra 2019, India’s third-highest war time gallantry medal.
Shaurya Chakra 2019
i. About the award: It is awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice while not engaged in direct action with the enemy. It is awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, sometimes posthumously. It is third in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry awards and comes after the Ashoka Chakra and Kirti Chakra. It precedes the Sena Medal.
ii. Medal design: It is a circular bronze medal with a green ribbon divided into four equal parts by three vertical lines.
iii. Awardees: Following 14 personnel were awarded Shaurya Chakras for 2019:
| Sl No | Name | Service |
| 1 | Lieutenant Colonel Ajay Singh Kushwah | Army |
| 2 | Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal (posthumously) | Army |
| 3 | Captain Maheshkumar Bhure | Army |
| 4 | Lance Naik Sandeep Singh (posthumously) | Army |
| 5 | Sepoy Brajesh Kumar (posthumously) | Army |
| 6 | Sepoy Hari Singh (posthumously) | Army |
| 7 | Rifleman Ajveer Singh Chauhan | Army |
| 8 | Rifleman Shive Kumar (posthumously) | Army |
| 9 | Amit Singh Rana | Navy |
| 10 | Constable Sable Dnyaneshwar Shriram | MHA* |
| 11 | Constable Zaker Hussain | MHA |
| 12 | Special Police Official Ashiq Hussain Malik (posthumously) | MHA |
| 13 | Head Constable Subash Chander | MHA |
| 14 | Sub Inspector Imran Hussain Tak (posthumously) | MHA |
*MHA- Ministry of Home Affairs
Sena Medals 2019
- About the award: It is awarded to members of the Indian army, of all ranks. It can be awarded for gallantry or it can also be for distinguished service carried out by any soldier, not in the face of the enemy. It is preceded by the Vir Chakra, Shaurya Chakra & Yudh Seva Medal and also the Vishisht Seva Medal. It was established on 17 June 1960, by the President of India.
- Medal design: It is a circular silver medal with a bayonet, pointed upwards and 32 mm, red ribbon, with a white central stripe- Red 15 mm, white 2 mm, red 15 mm.
Bar to Sena Medal (Gallantry) 2019
| Sl No | Name | Service |
| 1 | Colonel Ashutosh Sharma | Army |
| 2 | Major K Naveen Reddy | Army |
| 3 | Major Sagar Prakash Pardeshi | Army |
| 4 | Major Tasou Prao | Army |
| 5 | Major MD Sahwaj Alam | Army |
| 6 | Major Kaustubh Prakashkumar Rane (posthumously) | Army |
| 7 | Major Manish Kumar Singh | Army |
| 8 | Sepoy Sunil Kumar | Army |
Sena Medal (Gallantry) 2019
90 Army personnel were awarded Sena medals (Gallantry) 2019.
Nao Sena Medals 2019
i. About the award: It is a gallantry award for servicemen in the Indian Navy. It was established by the President of India on 17 June 1960.
ii. Medal design: The medal is pentangular in shape, with curved sides made of standard silver. The mounting shall is a fixed ring attached to a metal stripe 3mm wide ornamented with Ashoka leaves. It has embossed on its obverse the Naval Crest. On its reverse, it has a trident within a circle and rope and the inscription “Nao Sena Medal” in Hindi, embossed along the upper rim. The riband is navy blue colour with a white thin silver stripe down the centre.
iii. Awardees: Following are the awardees:
| 1 | Captain Naveen Thapa |
| 2 | Lt Cdr Ruchir Rakesh Khajuria |
| 3 | Takhellambam Rakhesh Singh |
| 4 | Shaminder Singh |
| 5 | Shri Niwas |
Vayu Sena Medals 2019
i. About the award: It is an Indian military decoration, usually awarded in peacetime for a job well done. It can be awarded Posthumously. It was established on 17 June 1960 by the President of India. It is awarded for all ranks of Indian Air Force.
ii. Medal design: A four-armed silver star with the points shaped like lotus blooms. In the centre, the national emblem. Suspended by a straight bar suspender and normally named and dated on the edge. In the reverse side, A Himalayan Eagle with wings spread, and the legend, above and below, in Hindi “Vayu Sena Medal” or “Air Force / Medal”. Ribbon: 30 mm, alternating 2 mm diagonal (lower left to upper right) stripes of grey and orange-saffron. The ribbon has an overall “woven” appearance.
iii. Awardees: Following are the awardees:
| Sl No | Name |
| 1 | Group Captain Saumitra Tamaskar |
| 2 | Wing Commander Pranav Raj |
| 3 | Wing Commander Amit Ranjan |
| 4 | Squadron leader Rahul Basoya |
| 5 | Squadron leader Pankaj Arvind Bhujade |
| 6 | Squadron leader B Karthik Narayan Reddy |
| 7 | Squadron leader Shashank Singh |
Yudh Seva Medal 2019
About the award: It is is one of India’s military decorations for distinguished service during wartime. It is awarded for a high degree of distinguished service in an operational context, which includes times of war, conflict, or hostilities and may be awarded posthumously. It is the wartime equivalent of the Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM). It was established on June 26, 1980.
Awardees: Following are the awardees:
| Sl No | Name | Service |
| 1 | Air Commodore Sunil Kashinath Vidhate AVSM VM | Air Force |
| 2 | Group Captain Yeshpal Singh Negi VM VSM | Air Force |
| 3 | Group Captain Hemant Kumar | Air Force |
| 4 | Group Captain Hansel Joseph Sequeira | Air Force |
| 5 | Squadron Leader Minty Aggarwal | Air Force |
Tatrakshak Medals 2019
President’s Tatrakshak Medal (Distinguished Service) 2019
It was awarded to IG Thekkumpurath Prabhakaran Sadanandan of Indian Coast Guard (ICG).
Tatrakshak Medals (Gallantry) 2019 to ICG personnel
| 1 | DIG Yoginder Dhaka |
| 2 | Comdt Anurup Singh |
| 3 | Dy Comdt Utkersh Sharma |
| 4 | Satish |
| 5 | Trinatha Behera |
Tatrakshak Medal (Meritorious Service) 2019 to ICG personnel
| 1 | IG Maneesh Vishal Pathak |
| 2 | DIG Neeraj Tiwari |
Fire Service Medals 2019 for Gallantry
President Ramnath Kovind awarded ‘Fire Service Medals 2019’ to 56 personnel.
- ‘Fire Service Medals for Gallantry 2019’ was awarded to Umapathi Dhandapani of Tamil Naidu.
- Shivashankara Nanjunde Gowda, Manjunath Narayan Belaguppa, Kriparam Sharma are among 8 personnel who have been awarded ‘Fire Service Medal 2019 for Distinguished Service’.
- ‘Fire Service Medal 2019 for Meritorious Service’ was awarded to 47 personnel including Kuleswar Teron, Promod Talukdar and Prasanna Teron.
Home Guard and Civil Defence Medals 2019
President Ramnath Kovind awarded ‘Home Guard and Civil Defence Medals 2019′ to 44 personnel.
- Home Guard and Civil Defence Medals 2019 for Distinguished Service’ was conferred to 8 personnel including Bhuban Saikia and Ashok Kumar Verma.
- Home Guard and Civil Defence Medals 2019 for Meritorious Service was given to 36 personnel including Gobin Saikia, Laxmi Sahu, Aslam Khan, and Sayar Singh Solanki.
Correctional Service Medals 2019 on prison personnel
President Ram Nath Kovind approved the conferment of Correctional Service Medals 2019 on prison personnel.
- Shakil Allauddin Shaikh, Subedar, Satara District Prison; N Hemantakumar Singh, Jailor, Manipur Central Jail, Sajiwa, and Sanjay Gupta, Deputy Superintendent, Mondoli Prison Headquarters were conferred with the Distinguished Service medal.
- Mukkamalla Venugopal Reddy, Jailor, Office of the District, Sub-Jails Officer, Vijayawada; Animalla Sesha Hanuman, Head Warden, District Jail, Eluru and Ramesh Prashad, Superintendent, District Jail, Hajipur are among 37 prison personnel who were conferred with the Correctional Service Medals 2019 for their Meritorious Service.
Police Medals 2019
NDRF Personnel
6 personnel of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were awarded with the Police Medals 2019. They are
- Shri Randeep Kumar Rana, Dy. Inspector General was awarded with President’s Police Medal 2019 for Distinguished Service.
- Shri Alok Kumar, Commandant, Shri Ravi Kant, Second-in-Command, Shri Bhawani Singh, Assistant Commandant, Inspector Raj Kumar, and Assistant Sub Inspector (GD) Narain Singh were awarded Police Medal 2019 for Meritorious Service in recognition of their selfless service to the nation.
BSF Personnel
56 Border Security Force (BSF) officials were honoured with Police Medals 2019. 5 were awarded Police Medal for Gallantry, 5- President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service and Police Medal for Meritorious Service was awarded to 46 personnel.
COAS and VCOAS Commendation Cards Awards 2019
370 and 262 Army personnel were awarded Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Vice Chief of the Army Staff (VCOAS) Commendation Cards 2019 respectively.
President Awards the Certificate of Honour and Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman for the Year 2019
Certificate of Honour 2019 was given to the following Scholars:
| Sl No | Name | Category |
| 1 | Shri Sripada Satyanarayanamurthy | Sanskrit |
| 2 | Shri Rajendra Nath Sarma | Sanskrit |
| 3 | Prof. Ramji Thakur | Sanskrit |
| 4 | Prof. Chand Kiran Saluja | Sanskrit |
| 5 | Dr. Shri Krishan Sharma | Sanskrit |
| 6 | Dr. V. Ramakrishna Bhatt | Sanskrit |
| 7 | Vidwan Janardana Hegde | Sanskrit |
| 8 | Dr. Kala Acharya | Sanskrit |
| 9 | Prof. (Dr.) Harekrishna Satapathy | Sanskrit |
| 10 | Pandit Satya Dev Sharma | Sanskrit |
| 11 | Shri Banwari Lal Gaur | Sanskrit |
| 12 | Dr. V.S. Karunakaran | Sanskrit |
| 13 | Prof. Yugal Kishor Mishra | Sanskrit |
| 14 | Pandit Manudev Bhattacharya | Sanskrit |
| 15 | Shri Subuddhi Charan Goswami | Sanskrit |
| 16 | Dr. Uma Shankar Vyas | Pali |
| 17 | Prof. Kamal Chand Sogani | Prakrit |
| 18 | Prof. Faizanullah Farooqi | Arabic |
| 19 | Mohammad Iqbal Husain | Arabic |
| 20 | Dr. Mohd. Samiullah Khan | Arabic |
| 21 | Prof. Dr. Iraq Raza Zaidi | Persian |
| 22 | Prof. Chander Shekhar | Persian |
| 23 | Mohammad Sidiq Niazmand | Persian |
| 24 | Shri Hampa Nagarajaiah | Classical Kannada |
| 25 | Prof. Ravva Srihari | Classical Telugu |
| 26 | Dr.C.P. Achuthan Unny | Classical Malayalam |
| 27 | Pandit Dr. Antaryami Mishra | Classical Odia |
Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman 2019 was given to the following Scholars:
| Sl No | Name | Category |
| 1 | Dr. Ashok Thapliyal | Sanskrit |
| 2 | Prof. Sujata Tripathi | Sanskrit |
| 3 | Dr. Sanju Mishra | Sanskrit |
| 4 | Dr. Abhijit Hanmant Joshi | Sanskrit |
| 5 | Dr. Sharachchandra Dwivedi | Sanskrit |
| 6 | Ms. Anoma Shriram Sakhare | Pali |
| 7 | Shri Ashish Kumar Jain | Prakrit |
| 8 | Dr. Fauzan Ahmad | Arabic |
| 9 | ER.M. Shahbaz Alam | Persian |
| 10 | Shri G.B. Harisha | Classical Kannada |
| 11 | Shri S. Karthik | Classical Kannada |
| 12 | Dr. M. Byrappa | Classical Kannada |
| 13 | Dr. Addanki Srinivas | Classical Telugu |
| 14 | Dr. V. Triveni | Classical Telugu |
| 15 | Dr. D.K. Prabhakar | Classical Telugu |
| 16 | Dr. Rajeev R.R. | Classical Malayalam |
| 17 | Shri Santhosh Thottingal | Classical Malayalam |
| 18 | Dr. Subrat Kumar Prusty | Classical Odia |
About Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman:
It is conferred on persons once a year on the Independence Day (August 15). The award introduced in the year 2002, is given to selected young scholars in the age group of 30 to 45 years. The Presidential award carries a certificate of honour, a memento and a one time cash prize of Rs.1 lakh.