Param Vir Chakra
The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest military decoration, awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime.
On 26 January 1950, celebrated as Republic Day of India, the PVC was instituted as a Gallantry Medal with retrospective effect from 15 August 1947 by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the then President of India.The Medal translates as the "Wheel of the Ultimate Brave", and the award is granted for "most conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy". The medal was designed by Mrs. Savitri Khanolkar. The designer drew inspiration from sage Dadhichi, a vedic rishi who made the ultimate sacrifice by giving up his body so that the Gods could make a deadly weapon called Vajra or Thunderbolt from his spine. The medal is cast in bronze. In the centre, on a raised circle, is the state emblem, surrounded by four replicas of Indra's Vajra, flanked by the sword of Shivaji. The decoration is suspended from a straight swiveling suspension bar, and is held by a 32 mm purple ribbon.
