R-Day honours: Ashoka Chakra for space hero Shubhanshu Shukla
Shaurya Chakra for 2 women Navy officers
New Delhi (PTI): Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who created history by becoming the first Indian to set foot on the International Space Station (ISS), was on Sunday awarded the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime gallantry award.
In June last year, Shukla became the second Indian to have gone to space and the first to visit the ISS as part of the historic Axiom-4 mission. His 18-day space odyssey came 41 years after cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma flew aboard the Russian Soyuz-11 space mission.
On the eve of the Republic Day, President Droupadi Murmu approved 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".
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.
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.
After the successful space mission, Shukla became a household name as his contributions during the mission, including the conduct of sophisticated experiments, received recognition from global space experts.
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).
Shukla hails from Lucknow. He was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force in June 2006.
Of the 13 Shaurya Chakra awards, 10 were conferred on Army personnel (one posthumous), two went to the Navy and one to a paramilitary official.
The Shaurya Chakra awardees are Lieutenant Colonel Ghatage Aditya Shrikumar from 21 Para (special forces), Major Anshul Baltoo from 32 Assam Rifles, Major Shivkant Yadav from 5 Para (special forces), Major Vivek Mech from 42 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Leishangthem Deepak Singh from 11 Para (special forces) and Captain Yogendra Singh Thaku from 6 Para (special forces).
Subedar P H Moses from 1 Assam Rifles, Baldev Chand (posthumous) from 4 Rashtriya Rifles, Rifleman Manglem Sang Vaiphei from 3 Assam Rifles and Rifleman Dhruba Jyoti Dutta from 33 Assam Rifles were the other recipients of the Shaurya Chakra from the Army.
The president also approved 301 military decorations to armed forces and other personnel.
These include 30 Param Vishisht Seva Medals, four Uttam Yudh Seva Medals, 56 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals, nine Yudh Seva Medals, two Bar to Sena Medals (Distinguished), 43 Sena Medals (Distinguished), eight Nao Sena Medals (Distinguished), 14 Vayu Sena Medals (Distinguished) and 135 Vishisht Seva Medals.
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Class 12 final exams of Odisha board begin amid tight security
Bhubaneswar (PTI): The class 12 final examinations of the Odisha board began on Wednesday amid heavy security, officials said.
A total of 4.01 lakh students are appearing for the exams being conducted by the Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE), Odisha, across 1,364 centres, they said.
The exams began with Science papers, while those for the Arts and Commerce streams will start on Friday. The exam will continue till March 28, they added.
A total of 2.56 lakh students are enrolled in the Arts stream, 1.14 lakh in Science, and 24,621 in Commerce, CHSE's Controller of Examinations Prasanta Kumar Parida said.
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There are also 5,932 students of vocational studies, he said.
The exam began at 10 am and will end at 1 pm, he added
Parida said live streaming of all examination centres has been made available, while 211 question paper hubs are being monitored with "AI technology".
Special squads have been deployed to conduct surprise inspections to check any malpractices, he added.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi extended greetings to all the students appearing for the examination.
"The examination is a beautiful reflection of your knowledge and hard work. There is no need to put any fear or stress in your mind for it. Remember, your performance will be of high quality only if you appear for the examination not under pressure, but with patience," he posted on X.
The practical examinations were conducted between January 2 and 15.
