President Droupadi Murmu on Friday approved 78 gallantry awards, including nine Kirti Chakras, 19 Shaurya Chakras and 36 Sena Medals, to the personnel of the defence forces and central armed police forces on the eve of the 80th Independence Day.The President also approved three Nao Sena Medals for Gallantry, five Vayu Sena Medals for Gallantry, one Bar to the Shaurya Chakra and five Bars to the Sena Medal for Gallantry.The Kirti Chakra is the second-highest peacetime gallantry award. Thirteen of the honours will be awarded posthumously across the armed forces, Central Armed Police Forces and state police forces.Of the nine Kirti Chakras, seven have been awarded posthumously. The Army recipients are Lt Col Maneo Francis of 21 Para (Special Forces), Major Jitendra Rathee of 2 Para (Special Forces) and Havildar Gajendra Singh of 2 Para (Special Forces), the last of whom has been awarded the honour posthumously. Lt Col Francis has been honoured for his actions in Manipur, while the other two have been recognised for an operation in Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir.Five other posthumous Kirti Chakra recipients are from Jammu and Kashmir. They are Head Constables Jagbir Singh and Bashir Ahmad; and Constables Jaswant Singh, Balvinder Singh and Tariq Hussain.The ninth Kirti Chakra has been awarded posthumously to Inspector Jattvibeil Kumar of the Uttar Pradesh Police.Major Aditya Pratap Singh of the Rajputana Rifles, serving with 44 Assam Rifles, has been awarded a Bar to the Shaurya Chakra.The President approved 19 Shaurya Chakras, including one posthumous honour. The recipients include Major Paramveer of the Garhwal Rifles, Major Tarun Vasudevan of the Corps of Engineers, Major Keshav Kumar of 12 Dogra, Major Gaurav Singh Brijwal of 21 Grenadiers and Major Vipeen Kumar of the Corps of Signals.Lance Naik Narender Sindhu of the Rajputana Rifles, serving with 9 Rashtriya Rifles, has been awarded the Shaurya Chakra posthumously. Lieutenant Commander Shivam Kumar of the Navy and Squadron Leader Sudhir Kumar of the Air Force are also among the recipients.The list further includes personnel under the Ministry of Home Affairs, including Deputy SP Dheeraj Singh Katoch, Inspector Ajay Singh Chib, Deputy SP Sukhvir Singh, Assistant Sub-Inspector Niyaz Ahmad, Deputy Commandant Anjani Kumar and Constable Deepak Sah.Thirty-six personnel have been approved for Sena Medals for Gallantry, five of them posthumously, while five others will receive a Bar to the Sena Medal for Gallantry.Three Navy personnel — Commander Vineet Sharma, Commander Yuvraj Kumar and POA (FD) Avinash Annaso — have been awarded the Nao Sena Medal for Gallantry.Five Air Force personnel have been selected for the Vayu Sena Medal for Gallantry: Group Captains Rahul Jagotta and Rahul Rawat, Wing Commander Ashish Rajpoot, Flight Lieutenant Yash and Master Warrant Officer Ravinderjit Singh.Apart from the gallantry awards, the President approved 89 Mention-in-Despatches. These include 75 Army personnel, four from the Navy and 10 from the IAF.The Army personnel recognised through Mention-in-Despatches served in operations, including Rakshak, Hifazat, Orchid, Meghdoot and Snow Leopard, among others. The list also includes Army dog Tyson of 2 Para (Special Forces), recognised under Operation Rakshak.