Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth, the country’s next Chief of the Army Staff, Navy Chief Admiral Krishna Swaminathan as well as Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai and Air Marshal Awadhesh Kumar Bharti, who both played key roles during the Operation Sindoor last year, were on Monday honoured with prestigious military decorations for their distinguished service of exceptional order.President Droupadi Murmu conferred 105 distinguished service decorations to the personnel of the defence forces and the Indian Coast Guard during the Defence Investiture Ceremony 2026 (Phase-II) hosted at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here.“These decorations — seven Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medals, 30 Param Vishisht Seva Medals, 12 Uttam Yudh Seva Medals and 56 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals — have been given to the personnel for their distinguished service of exceptional order,” the Defence Ministry said.It also shared the names of the awardees in a list, mentioning different categories of military decorations. Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal recognises the distinguished service of the most exceptional order during war, conflict or hostilities.Lt Gen Pratik Sharma, Commander, Army’s Northern Command; Lt Gen Ghai, who served as the Army’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) during Operation Sindoor; Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Bharti, who served as the IAF’s Director General of Air Operations during the operation in May 2025, IAF’s Vice Chief Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor, and former Vice Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari (retd), have been conferred the Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal.Both Lt Gen Ghai and Air Marshal Bharti were also the Army’s and IAF’s faces during the tri-service briefing conducted here on Operation Sindoor last year.Lt Gen Ghai was recently appointed military adviser to the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS).Murmu also conferred Param Vishisht Seva Medals to Navy Chief Admiral Swaminathan; Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan; and Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC), Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, among other officers, serving and retired.Admiral Swaminathan assumed charge as the 27th Chief of the Naval Staff of the Navy on May 31.In the Uttam Yudh Seva Medal category, the awardees include Lt Gen Seth and Vice Admiral Tarun Sobti, among others.