Param Vir Chakra Winners List With PDF (2023 Updated)

Last Updated: 10 April 2023

The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India’s Highest Military Decoration, awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valor during Wartime. Param Vir Chakra translates as the “Wheel of the Ultimate Brave”, and the award is granted for “Most Conspicuous Bravery in the Presence of the Enemy”.

India’s then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru entrusted the implementation of the Param Vir Chakra to Major General Hira Lal Atal, the first Indian adjutant general of India. He in turn requested Savitri Khanolkar, the wife of an Indian Army officer, Vikram Khanolkar of the Sikh Regiment, to design the medal for the PVC.

Coincidentally, the first Param Vir Chakra would be awarded to Major Somnath Sharma, the brother-in-law of Khanolkar’s daughter. Download the PDF at the end of this article

Page Contents

Param Vir Chakra Information

#	Header	Details
1	Type	Military Award
2	Country	India
3	Presented By	President of India
4	Post-Nominals	PVC
5	Status	Active
6	Established	26 January 1950
7	First Awarded	3 November 1947
8	Last Awarded	7 July 1999
9	Total	21 Awards
10	Total Awarded Posthumously	14 Awards
11	Total Recipients	21 Awards
12	Award Equivalent	Victoria Cross (UK) Medal of Honor (US)
13	Order Of Precedence	1^st Bharat Ratna 2^nd Param Vir Chakra 3^rd Ashoka Chakra 4^th Padma Vibhushan 5^th Padma Bhushan 6^th Padma Shri
14	Gallantry Awards Order	1^st Param Vir Chakra 2^nd Maha Vir Chakra 3^rd Vir Chakra

Facts About Param Vir Chakra

The name of the Param Vir Chakra Award translates as the “Wheel of the Ultimate Brave”.

In June 1948, it was decided to institute new Indian awards for gallantry: the Param Vir Chakra (PVC), Maha Vir Chakra (MVC), and Vir Chakra (VrC).

Major Somnath Sharma was the first recipient while Captain Vikram Batra was the last awarded recipient to date.

As of January 2023, the medal has been awarded 21 times, of which 14 were posthumous and 16 arose from actions in Indo-Pakistani conflicts.

Of the 21 Awardees, 20 have been from the Indian Army, and one has been from the Indian Air Force.

As of January 2023, Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, who was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously in 1971, is the only Indian Air Force officer to have been honored with the medal.

Subedar Major Bana Singh, Subedar Sanjay Kumar, and Subedar Yogendra Singh Yadav are the only living recipients of the award.

The Grenadiers, with three awards, have received the greatest number of Param Vir Chakras.

The various Gorkha Rifle regiments of the Indian Army have received three awards, with the 1, 8, and 11 Gorkha Rifle regiments each having one Param Vir Chakra recipient.

A memorial has been built in memory of Param Vir Chakra recipients at Marina Park, Port Blair, in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It was inaugurated in September 2014 by the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Lieutenant General Ajay Kumar Singh.

Recipients Of Param Vir Chakra

No.	Soldier	Unit	Conflict	Date of Action	Place of Action
1	Somnath Sharma^✝ [Major]	Kumaon Regiment	Battle of Badgam	03 Nov 1947	Badgam Jammu & Kashmir
2	Jadunath Singh^✝ [Naik]	Rajput Regiment	Indo-Pakistani War 1947	06 Feb 1948	Naushera Jammu & Kashmir
3	Rama Raghoba Rane [Second Lieutenant]	Bombay Sappers	Indo-Pakistani War 1947	08 Apr 1948	Naushera Jammu & Kashmir
4	Piru Singh^✝ [Company Havildar Major]	Rajputana Rifles	Indo-Pakistani War 1947	17 Jul 1948	Tithwal Jammu & Kashmir
5	Karam Singh [Lance Naik]	Sikh Regiment	Indo-Pakistani War 1947	13 Oct 1948	Tithwal Jammu & Kashmir
6	Gurbachan Singh Salaria^✝ [Captain]	1 Gorkha Rifles	Congo Crisis	05 Dec 1961	Élisabethville Katanga Congo
7	Dhan Singh Thapa [Major]	8 Gorkha Rifles	Sino-Indian War	20 Oct 1962	Ladakh Jammu & Kashmir
8	Joginder Singh^✝ [Subedar]	Sikh Regiment	Sino-Indian War	23 Oct 1962	Tongpen La North-East Frontier Agency
9	Shaitan Singh^✝ [Major]	Kumaon Regiment	Sino-Indian War	18 Nov 1962	Rezang La Jammu & Kashmir
10	Abdul Hamid^✝ [Company Quarter Master Havildar]	The Grenadiers	Battle of Asal Uttar	10 Sep 1965	Khemkaran
11	Ardeshir Tarapore^✝ [Lieutenant Colonel]	Poona Horse	Battle of Chawinda	11 Sep 1965	Phillora Sialkot Pakistan
12	Albert Ekka^✝ [Lance Naik]	Brigade of the Guards	Battle of Hilli	03 Dec 1971	Gangasagar Tripura
13	Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon^✝ [Flying Officer]	No. 18 Squadron IAF	Indo-Pakistani War 1971	14 Dec 1971	Srinagar Jammu & Kashmir
14	Arun Khetarpal^✝ [Second Lieutenant]	Poona Horse	Battle of Basantar	16 Dec 1971	Barapind-Jarpal Shakargarh Pakistan
15	Hoshiar Singh Dahiya [Major]	The Grenadiers	Battle of Basantar	17 Dec 1971	Basantar River Shakargarh Pakistan
16	Bana Singh [Naib Subedar]	Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry	Operation Rajiv	23 May 1987	Siachen Glacier Jammu & Kashmir
17	Ramaswamy Parameshwaran^✝ [Major]	Mahar Regiment	Operation Pawan	25 Nov 1987	Sri Lanka
18	Manoj Kumar Pandey^✝ [Lieutenant]	11 Gorkha Rifles	Operation Vijay	03 Jul 1999	Khaluber /Juber Top Jammu & Kashmir
19	Yogendra Singh Yadav [Grenadier]	The Grenadiers	Battle of Tiger Hill	04 Jul 1999	Tiger Hill Jammu & Kashmir
20	Sanjay Kumar [Rifleman]	Jammu and Kashmir Rifles	Kargil War	05 Jul 1999	Kargil Jammu & Kashmir
21	Vikram Batra^✝ [Captain]	Jammu and Kashmir Rifles	Operation Vijay	07 Jul 1999	Kargil Jammu & Kashmir

Facts About Rewards To The Recipient

The Param Vir Chakra carries a cash allowance for those under the Rank of Lieutenant (or the appropriate service equivalent), and in some cases a cash award.

Upon the death of the Recipient, the pension is transferred to the Spouse until their Death or Remarriage.

In the case of a Posthumous Recipient who is unmarried, the allowance is paid to their Parents.

In the case of the award being conferred Posthumously on a Widow or Widower, the allowance is to be paid to their Son or Unmarried Daughter.

A monthly stipend of ₹20,000 is given to the awardee along with their regular pay.

The Award Amount and Pension Benefits are exempted from Income Tax.

A relatively unknown convention in the Indian Army is for a Param Vir Chakra recipient to be saluted, when in Ceremonial Uniform, by everyone in the Army irrespective of rank, although no legal provision exists.

Allowances By State Governments

#	Cash Amount (INR)	States Awarding
1	20 Million	Haryana
2	10 Million	Telangana
3	3 Million	Punjab
4	2.5 Million	1) Assam 2) Chandigarh 3) Chhattisgarh 4) Delhi 5) Goa 6) Himachal Pradesh 7) Kerala 8) Maharashtra 9) Uttar Pradesh 10) Uttarakhand
5	2 Million	1) Rajasthan 2) Madhya Pradesh
6	1.5 Million	1) Tamil Nadu 2) Mizoram
7	1 Million	1) Jharkhand 2) Andhra Pradesh 3) Bihar
8	22,500	1) Gujarat 2) Jammu and Kashmir 3) Karnataka 4) Odisha 5) Sikkim 6) West Bengal

Regulations Of Param Vir Chakra

The regulations of the Param Vir Chakra (PVC) were set out in “The Gazette of India” the day the award was established on 26^th January 1950

List	Regulations
First	The decoration shall be in form of a medal and styled and designated the Param Vir Chakra.
Second	The medal shall be circular in shape, made of bronze, and one and three-eighth inches [35 mm] in diameter. On the front, it shall have embossed on the obverse, four replicas of Indra’s Vajra with the state emblem embossed in the center. On the reverse, it shall have embossed Param Vir Chakra, both in Hindi and English, with two lotus flowers between the inscriptions. A sealed pattern of the decoration shall be deposited and kept.
Third	The medal shall be suspended from the left breast by a plain purple-colored ribbon of one and a quarter inches [32 mm] in width; on those occasions when only the ribbon is worn, a replica of Indra’s Vajra in miniature shall be fixed in the center of the ribbon.
Fourth	If any recipient of the Chakra shall again perform such an act of bravery as would have made him or her eligible to receive the Chakra, a such further act of bravery shall be recorded by a bar to be attached to the ribbon by which the Chakra is suspended, and for every such additional act of bravery an additional bar shall be added, and any such bar or bars may also be awarded posthumously. For every bar awarded, a replica of Indra’s Vajra in miniature shall be added to the ribbon when worn alone.
Fifth	The Chakra may also be awarded posthumously.
Sixth	The distinction shall be conferred by the President of India.
Seventh	The names of those persons upon or on account of whom the decoration may be conferred shall be published in The Gazette of India, and a Register thereof kept under the directions of the President.
Eighth	(a) Officers, Men and Women of all ranks of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, of any of the Reserve Forces, of the Territorial Army, Militia, and of any other lawfully constituted Armed Forces. (b) Matrons, Sisters, Nurses, and the staff of the Nursing Services and other Services pertaining to Hospitals and Nursing and Civilians of either sex serving regularly or temporarily under the orders, directions, or supervision of any of the above-mentioned Forces.
Ninth	The miniature decoration, which may be worn on certain occasions by those to whom the decoration is awarded, shall be half the size of the Chakra, and a sealed pattern of the said miniature decoration shall be deposited and kept.
Tenth	The miniature decoration, which may be worn on certain occasions by those to whom the decoration is awarded, shall be half the size of the Chakra and a sealed pattern of the said miniature decoration shall be deposited and kept.
Eleventh	Every recipient of the Chakra being or ranking junior in rank to that of Sub-Lieutenant in the case of the Navy, Second Lieutenant in the case of the Army, and Pilot Officer in the case of the Air Force, shall, from the date of the act by which the decoration has been gained, be entitled to a special pension, and each additional bar shall carry with it additional pension for life at such rates as the President may prescribe. On the death of the recipient of the Chakra to whom the clause applies, the pension shall be continued to his widow until her death or remarriage under such rules as may be prescribed by the President.
Twelfth	This Chakra shall rank first among all awards.
Thirteenth	The President may cancel and annul the award of the Chakra to any person together with any pension appertaining thereto not already paid, and thereupon his or her name in the register shall be erased and he or she shall be required to surrender his or her insignia, but it shall be competent for the President to restore the decoration when such cancellation and annulment have subsequently been withdrawn and with it such pension as may have been forfeited.
Fourteen	Notice of cancellation or restoration in every case shall be published in The Gazette of India.

Questions Related To Param Vir Chakra

1. What did the Param Vir Chakra replace when India became Republic in 1950?

Answer: Param Vir Chakra replaced the Victoria Cross post Independence. It was established on 26^th January 1950 and the first person to receive the award was Major Somnath Sharma.

Param Vir Chakra is equivalent to the Victoria Cross in the United Kingdom and the Medal of Honor in the United States.

2. Param Vir Chakra is made of which metal?

Answer: Bronze

3. Who is the Param Vir Chakra’s first Winner?

Answer: Major Somnath Sharma

4. Who are the living recipients of the Param Vir Chakra Award?

Answer: Subedar Major Bana Singh, Subedar Sanjay Kumar, and Subedar Yogendra Singh Yadav.

5. What are the benefits of Param Vir Chakra?

Answer: A monthly stipend of ₹20,000 is given to the awardee along with their regular pay. The award amount and pension benefits are exempted from income tax.

6. Who was the last winner of Param Vir Chakra?

Answer: Captain Vikram Batra

7. Who designed the Param Vir Chakra?

Answer: Savitri Khanolkar (Wife of an Indian Army officer, Vikram Khanolkar of the Sikh Regiment)

8. How many total Param Vir Chakra were awarded?

Answer: 21 Awards

9. How many Param Vir Chakra was awarded posthumously?

Answer: 14 Awards

10. How many PVC recipients were from the Indian Army?

Answer: 20 Recipients

11. Who is the only Indian Air Force officer to have been honored with the PVC Medal?

Answer: Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon