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Param Vir Chakra
Param-vir-chakra-medal.png

Param-Vir-Chakra-ribbon.svg
Param Vir Chakra and its ribbon, the highest military decoration of India
Awarded by  India
Country  India
Type Medal
Eligibility 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.
Awarded for Most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice, in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea, or in the air.
Status Currently awarded
Post-nominals PVC
Statistics
Established 26 January 1950
First awarded 3 November 1947
Last awarded 6 July 1999
Total awarded 21
Posthumous
awards		 14
Distinct
recipients		 21
Precedence
Next (higher) Bharat Ratna
Next (lower) Ashoka Chakra
Bana Singh, Yoginder, Sanjay Kumar (PVC Recipients).jpg
The three living recipients of the Param Vir Chakra Award: Yogendra Singh Yadav, Bana Singh and Sanjay Kumar

The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest military decoration awarded for the highest degree of valour or self-sacrifice in the presence of the enemy. The medal has been awarded 21 times, 14 of which were posthumous awards.

Literally Param Vir Chakra means "Wheel (or Cross) of the Ultimate Brave", it is equal to the Medal of Honor in the United States and the Victoria Cross in the United Kingdom.

Instituted on 26 January 1950, by the President of India, with effect from 15 August 1947, this award can also be awarded posthumously. Officers or enlisted personnel from all branches of the Indian Armed Forces are eligible for the award. Recipients of the decoration have the right to use PVC as a postnominal abbreviation.

There is a provision for the award of a bar for a second (or subsequent) awards of the Param Vir Chakra, with a replica of the Vajra, the weapon of Indra, the god of heaven. However, no one has received it to date.

Images for kids

  • Bana Singh, Yoginder, Sanjay Kumar (PVC Recipients)

    The three living recipients of the Param Vir Chakra: Yogendra Singh Yadav, Bana Singh, and Sanjay Kumar

  • Major Somnath Sharma statue at Param Yodha Sthal Delhi

    Major Somnath Sharma's statue at Param Yodha Sthal, National War Memorial, New Delhi

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