Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal Crowns Defence Investiture as Op Sindoor Commanders Are Honoured

The Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal went to the officers who planned and ran Operation Sindoor as President Droupadi Murmu conferred 105 distinguished service decorations on armed forces and Indian Coast Guard personnel at Rashtrapati Bhavan on June 29. The event, the Defence Investiture Ceremony 2026 (Phase-II), gathered serving and retired officers from the three services and the Coast Guard before the President, who is Supreme Commander of the armed forces.

The decorations split into seven Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medals, 30 Param Vishisht Seva Medals, 12 Uttam Yudh Seva Medals and 56 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals. Recipients ran the full span of rank, from Subedar to Air Marshal.

Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal goes to Operation Sindoor leaders

The Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal is India's highest distinguished service decoration for war, conflict or hostilities. The seven awarded here recognised the command of last year's operation against Pakistan. Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, who served as Director General of Military Operations during Operation Sindoor, was among the recipients. So was Air Marshal Awadhesh Kumar Bharti, the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, who held charge as Director General of Air Operations through the May 2025 fighting.

Both officers were the public faces of the tri-service briefings that walked the country through the operation. Lt Gen Ghai has since taken charge as Military Adviser to the National Security Council Secretariat, an appointment confirmed in June. The decoration follows the recognition extended earlier this month when the fallen of Operation Sindoor were named on the National War Memorial Roll of Honour for the first time.

The other Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal recipients named at the ceremony included Lt Gen Pratik Sharma, who commands the Army's Northern Command, Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor, the Vice Chief of the Air Staff, and Air Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari (retd), a former Vice Chief of the Air Staff. The medal sits at the top of the wartime honours list.

President Murmu confers the full slate of honours

The investiture is the formal stage at which decorations approved earlier in the year are physically presented. A clarification issued by the Defence Ministry this week, after social media posts questioned the timing of earlier recognition for the Operation Sindoor dead, had already pushed the honours process into public view.

Citations on the day pointed to service across the Army's regional commands, from the Northern theatre to the Southern, and to the specialist corps. Engineers, Signals, Artillery and the medical branches all featured. Naval officers honoured included air defence and medical specialists. Air Force recipients spanned flying and aeronautical engineering streams, several of them in instructor or staff roles.

Param Vishisht Seva Medal to the Navy Chief and senior commanders

The Param Vishisht Seva Medal, given for distinguished service of the most exceptional order in peacetime, went to 30 officers. Adm Krishna Swaminathan, who took charge as the 27th Chief of the Naval Staff on May 31, was among them. Vice Adm Sanjay Vatsayan, heading the Western Naval Command, and Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff, were also on the list.

The category drew names from across command and specialist roles. Lt Gen Viresh Pratap Singh Kaushik, Lt Gen Michael Anthony Jude Fernandez and Vice Adm Atul Anand were among those recognised. Five retired officers featured in this group, a reminder that the citation often catches up with a career after the uniform comes off.

Uttam Yudh Seva and Ati Vishisht Seva awards

The Uttam Yudh Seva Medal went to 12 officers. Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth of the Armoured Corps, named the next Chief of the Army Staff, was among them; he takes charge on June 30. Vice Adm Tarun Sobti, the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff, Air Marshal Manish Khanna and Lt Gen Prashant Srivastava of the Parachute Regiment rounded out the better-known recipients. For the Air Force officers honoured across the day, the awards came in the same week the IAF took its indigenous Netra AEW&C platform to full operational clearance.

The Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, the largest group at 56, leaned heavily on the Army, which accounted for 30 Maj Gens and Lt Gens. The Navy contributed five Vice Admirals and one Rear Admiral. The Air Force added six officers at Air Marshal and Air Vice Marshal rank. It is the entry tier of the distinguished service hierarchy and the broadest in reach.

Coast Guard and medical branches in the list

Additional Director General Donny Michael carried the Indian Coast Guard into the Ati Vishisht Seva list. A Subedar from the Assam Regiment also featured, the lowest rank honoured on the day. Surgeon Vice Adm Kavita Sahai, a retired medical officer, appeared among the recipients, with the President presenting the awards at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The mix of serving and retired names across all four categories tracked the way the system works. Some citations reward a single tour or operation. Others close out decades. The Defence Ministry released the full list of awardees by category, the Indian Army furnishing the largest share across the Sarvottam Yudh Seva, Uttam Yudh Seva and Ati Vishisht Seva tiers.