NEW DELHI: The Centre on Sunday awarded group captain Shubhanshu Shukla – who became the first Indian to set foot on the International Space Station – with Ashoka Chakra — India’s highest peacetime gallantry award.Shukla spent 18 days in space and became the second Indian to have gone to space and the first to visit the ISS as part of the historic Axion-4 mission. This came 41 years after Rakesh Sharma flew aboard the Russian Soyuz-11 space mission.Shukla served as the pilot for the Axiom Mission-4 (Ax-4) to the ISS and left an indelible mark on India’s remarkable advancements in human space exploration.As a fighter pilot, Shukla has an impressive record of 2,000 hours of flight experience across various aircraft, including the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier and An-32.The Axiom-4 mission was executed by US-based private firm Axiom Space and it involved the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).Additionally, the President Droupadi Murmu approved awards and 301 military decorations and gallantry awards to 70 armed forces personnel, including six who would receive the honour posthumously.These include one Ashoka Chakra, three Kirti Chakra, 13 Shaurya Chakra, including one posthumous, one Bar to Sena Medal (gallantry), 44 Sena Medals (gallantry), six Nao Sena Medals (gallantry) and two Vayu Sena Medals.Two women officers of the Indian Navy — Lieutenant Commander Dilna K and Lieutenant Commander Roopa A — were honoured with the Shaurya Chakra award, months after they made history by completing an extraordinary expedition to circumnavigate the globe, covering 21,600 nautical miles (approx 40,000 km) over an eight-month period onboard Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) Tarini.The Shaurya Chakra is India’s third-highest peacetime gallantry award after the Ashoka Chakra and the Kirti Chakra.The Kirti Chakra has been conferred on Major Arshdeep Singh from 1 Assam Rifles, Naib Subedar Doleshwar Subba from 2 Para (Special Forces) and Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair.Nair was one of the four astronauts who underwent training for India’s first human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan.The decision to confer the Ashoka Chakra on Shukla is seen as the government’s recognition of the importance of the space sector as the coveted honour is generally bestowed on military personnel for showing “most conspicuous bravery”.The President approved to armed forces and other personnel.
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