E-Paper
Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla gets Ashok Chakra, India's highest peacetime military medal
Apart from Shukla, Group Captain PB Nair, one of the four designated astronauts for the Gaganyaan mission, has been awarded the Kirti Chakra.
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been conferred with the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime military decoration, for his contribution to the space programme through his journey and stay at the International Space Station.
Shukla created history by reaching the ISS after launch by SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre on June 26, 2025. He became the first Indian astronaut to set foot on ISS.
However, among Indians who have gone to space, he is the second, after Rakesh Sharma, also of the IAF, who flew four decades earlier.
Sharma was also awarded the Ashok Chakra.
As a fighter pilot, Shukla has an impressive 2,000 hours of flight experience across various aircraft, including the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32.
President Droupadi Murmu approved gallantry awards for 70 armed forces personnel on the eve of Republic Day, including six who would receive the honours posthumously.
These include one Ashoka Chakra, three Kirti Chakra, 13 Shaurya Chakra, including one posthumous, one Bar to Sena Medal (gallantry) and 44 Sena Medals (gallantry).
Apart from Shukla, Group Captain PB Nair, one of the four designated astronauts for the Gaganyaan mission, has been awarded the Kirti Chakra, the peacetime equivalent of Mahavir Chakra.
Here is the full list of the Ashoka Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra awardees.
Full list of the three highest military decorations
Ashoka Chakra
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla
Kirti Chakra
Major Arshdeep Singh
Naib Subedar Doleshwar Subba
Group Captain PB Nair
Shaurya Chakra
- Lt. Colonel Ghatage Aditya Shrikumar
- Major Anshul Baltoo
- Major Shivkant Yadav
- Major Vivek
- Major Leishangthem Deepak Singh
- Captain Yogender Singh Thakur
- Subedar P H Moses
- L/Dfr Baldev Chand (Posthumous)
- Rifleman Manglem Sang Vaiphei
- Rifleman Dhurba Jyoti Dutta
- Lt. Commander Dilna K (Navy)
- Lt. Commander Roopa A (Navy)
- Assistant Commandant Vipin Wilson (MHA)
Here is the full list of military medals awarded on the eve of the 77th Republic Day.
