Space Hero Shubhanshu Shukla Awarded Ashoka Chakra

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who created history by becoming the first Indian to visit the International Space Station (ISS), has been honoured with the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime gallantry award.

In June last year, Group Captain Shukla, 41, also became the second Indian to have gone to space. He flew to the ISS as part of the Axiom-4 mission.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) test pilot's 18-day space odyssey came 41 years after Rakesh Sharma flew aboard a Russian Soyuz in 1984.

As a fighter pilot, Group Captain Shukla has an impressive record of 2,000 hours of flight experience across various aircraft, including the Sukhoi-30MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32.

Group Captain Shukla's space flight had set the stage for achieving India's own ambitions of human spaceflight - Gaganyaan - and building the Bharat Antariksha Station soon after.

"This mission is a big achievement for our country, and it has come at the right time. India is on course for its human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, Bharatiya Antariksh Station and eventually landing on the Moon," he had said last year.

"Whatever we have learnt from this (Axiom) mission, I think they are very unique and critical for our mission. Our efforts in the coming months and years would be to employ those learnings in our mission," he had said.

Gallantry Awards

President Droupadi Murmu today 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) and 44 Sena Medals (gallantry).

The Kirti Chakra award winners are Major Arshdeep Singh, Naib Subedar Doleshwar Subba and Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair.

Padma Awards 2026: See Full List

The list of Padma Awards recipients for 2026 was announced today as the country prepares to celebrate Republic Day 2026. The awards recognised 45 unsung heroes from across the country for their distinguished service in diverse fields, including social work, literature and education, healthcare, public service and community welfare.

The awardees include individuals who have worked quietly at the grassroots for decades, many of them from marginalised communities, Dalit and backward sections, primitive tribes and remote or difficult terrains.