General Knowledge Information about Param Vir Chakra:

Param Vir Chakra:

Param Vir Chakra is India's highest military decoration awarded for gallantry and sacrifice of a high order in the presence of enemies. In most cases this honor is given posthumously. The award was instituted on 26 January 1950. Officers or employees of any part of the Indian Army are eligible for this award and it is considered the most prestigious award after the country's highest honor Bharat Ratna. Earlier, when the Indian Army worked under the British Army, the highest honor of the army was the Victoria Cross.

Quick Info about Param Vir Chakra:

Category of the award Wartime Gallantry Awards
Establishment Year 26 January 1950
Country India
1st winner Major Somnath Sharma (posthumously)
The Ultimate Winner Captain Vikram Batra (1999)

Meaning of Param Vir Chakra:

The literal meaning of 'Param Vir Chakra' is "the wheel of gallantry". The word is derived from the Sanskrit words "Param", "Veer" and "Chakra".

Prize money given to Param Vir Chakra:

There is also a provision to give cash or pension to military personnel of the rank of lieutenant or below, on receiving this award, to them (or their dependents). However, the low amount of pension that is given to military widows before their remarriage or death has been controversial so far.

In March 1999, this amount was increased to Rs 1500 per month. While many provincial governments provide pensions of much higher amount to the dependents of Param Vir Chakra awarded military officers. Subedar Major Banna Singh was the only person who survived the Kargil war among the bravehearts to receive the Param Vir Chakra. Subedar Singh was serving in the Eighth Regiment of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry.

List of Param Vir Chakra winners from the year 1947 till date:

Name of the honoree year Comment
Major Somnath Sharma November 03, 1947 posthumously
Lance Naik Karam Singh 13th October, 1948 -
Second Lieutenant Ram Raghoba Rane April 08, 1948 -
Nayak Yadunath Singh February 1948 posthumously
Company Havildar Major Piru Singh July 17-18, 1948 posthumously
Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria December 05, 1961 posthumously
Major Dhan Singh Thapa 20th October, 1962 -
Subedar Joginder Singh 23rd October, 1962 posthumously
Major Shaitan Singh 18th November, 1962 posthumously
Company Quartermaster Havildar Abdul Hamid September 10, 1965 posthumously
Lt. Col. Ardeshir Tarapore 15th October, 1965 posthumously
Lance Naik Albert Ekka December 03, 1971 posthumously
Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon 14th December, 1971 posthumously
Lieutenant Arun Kshetrapal 16th December, 1971 posthumously
Major Hoshiyar Singh 17th December, 1971 -
Naib Subedar Banna Singh June 23, 1987 -
Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran 25th November, 1987 posthumously
Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey July 03, 1999 posthumously
Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav July 04, 1999 -
Rifleman Sanjay Kumar July 05, 1999 -
Captain Vikram Batra July 06, 1999 posthumously

Read also:

  Last update :  Fri 31 Mar 2023
  Post Views :  15882
  Post Category :  National Awards