Gen Dhiraj Seth conferred the Yoddha Seva Samman on four military veterans during his visit to Headquarters Central Command in Lucknow on Tuesday. The Chief of Army Staff felicitated the recipients for work spanning strategic writing, medical education, elder care and career counselling for ex-servicemen.

The felicitation was held alongside a separate interaction with troops at the same venue, part of a wider engagement during the COAS's visit to Headquarters Central Command, Lucknow. Central Command, raised in the city in 1963, is one of the Army's oldest formation headquarters and hosts a steady stream of such veteran and troop-facing events.

What the Yoddha Seva Samman honours

The Yoddha Seva Samman recognises veterans for exemplary post-retirement contributions across seven areas: social service, education, healthcare, environment, agriculture, sports and veteran welfare. The Army's own framing for the award, rendered in Hindi and English on the event backdrop, reads "Karm Se Gaurav, Seva Se Vijay", or honour through action, victory through service. The idea behind it is straightforward. A soldier's uniform comes off at retirement, but the Army's messaging around the Yoddha Seva Samman holds that the values built up over a career rarely do. The scheme sits alongside the wider ex-servicemen welfare architecture run by the government through the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare and the Kendriya Sainik Board, though the Yoddha Seva Samman itself is an Army initiative.

A voice in strategic discourse: Maj Gen Harsh Kakar

Maj Gen Harsh Kakar (Retd) was honoured for his contributions to national security and strategic thought. His military career included service in United Nations peacekeeping missions. Since retiring, he has continued to shape strategic discourse as a Founder Member and Vice Chairman of STRIVE India, through writings, lectures and strategic commentary that keep him active in the same conversations he once helped run from within the system.


From Nagpur to Arunachal Pradesh: Col Arvind Singh Kushwaha's medical legacy

Col Arvind Singh Kushwaha (Retd) was recognised for his contributions to healthcare and medical education. He played a role in the establishment of AIIMS Nagpur, strengthened COVID-19 management efforts in Maharashtra, and contributed to the development of medical colleges in Arunachal Pradesh. The Army's own Department of Military Medicine opened at Command Hospital, Lucknow only days earlier, so a serving-to-veteran medical thread now runs through the same city on two separate occasions within the same week.

Shelter for war widows: Naib Subedar Radhey Shyam

Naib Subedar Radhey Shyam (Retd) was felicitated for humanitarian service. Using his own initiative and resources, he established an old-age home that provides shelter, food and medical care to ex-servicemen, war widows and underprivileged residents. That work, the Army said, has earned him widespread recognition and several prestigious honours over the years.

A library for the next generation: Risaldar Major Vijay Kumar

Risaldar Major (Honorary Captain) Vijay Kumar (Retd) was honoured for his contribution to veteran welfare and youth empowerment. He built a Sainik Library and Motivation Centre with his own resources, offering free career guidance, study material and computer training. The beneficiaries are described as youth and ex-servicemen alike, a detail that places his work in the same lineage as Gen Dhiraj Seth's other recent engagements honouring veterans, including his tribute at Dras last month and his same-day review of Central Command's operational preparedness at the same headquarters.

The Army closed its post on the ceremony with a line it credited to no single speaker: "Service is a Lifelong Journey; Building a Stronger, United India."