Indian Army Releases COAS, VCOAS Commendation Lists for Independence Day 2026; 1,011 Personnel Honoured

The Indian Army has released its Independence Day 2026 commendation lists, naming 1,011 personnel for the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Commendation Card and the Vice Chief of the Army Staff (VCOAS) Commendation Card. The honours, issued through the Ministry of Defence and the Press Information Bureau on August 14, 2026, recognise service across combat arms, support branches, joint organisations and civilian establishments linked to the Army.

According to the official lists, 790 personnel have been selected for the COAS Commendation Card and 221 for the VCOAS Commendation Card. Together, the two awards cover officers, Junior Commissioned Officers, Other Ranks, Agniveers, Territorial Army personnel, NCC personnel, civilians and members of other services and organisations working in defence-related roles.

The COAS list is the larger of the two and runs to 21 pages. It spans virtually every major arm and service in the Indian Army, beginning with personnel from the Armoured Corps and then moving through the Mechanised Infantry, Infantry, Artillery, Engineers, Signals, Army Air Defence, Army Aviation, intelligence, logistics, medical and other support branches.

Among the early names in the COAS list are Colonel Sanjay Jain and Colonel Nikhil Bhardwaj of the Armoured Corps. The same arm also includes Lt Col Nakul Punia, Lt Col Sanjeev Kumar, Lt Col Kasi Trinadh Netti and Lt Col Rishabh Mamgain. The list further features young officers and soldiers from operational formations, including Major Avinash Shukla of 55 Rashtriya Rifles, Captain Rajat Ranjan Keron of 6 Lancers, and personnel from armoured regiments.

Two Agniveers also appear in the armoured stream of the honours list: Agniveer Vikas of 86 Armoured Regiment and Agniveer Chinnam Madhu of 16 Light Cavalry. Their inclusion shows that the commendations are not limited to senior officers but extend to newer entrants in the service as well.

The Mechanised Infantry has a substantial presence in the COAS awards. Among those recognised are Lt Col Bhagirath Narasimha Somayaji, Major Tapeesh Gautam, Major Udai Pratap Singh and Major D Phaneendra, along with JCOs and Other Ranks serving in mechanised formations and Rashtriya Rifles units.

Infantry personnel make up another large share of the list, reflecting the breadth of roles performed by soldiers deployed in operational, counter-insurgency, training and headquarters appointments. Senior officers named include Colonel Hitender Parti of the Punjab Regiment, Colonel Udayraj Kulgude of the Maratha Light Infantry, Colonel Gaurav Thakur of the Bihar Regiment, Colonel Pradeep Kumar of the Garhwal Rifles, Colonel Ankur Singh of the Punjab Regiment and Colonel Brajendra Singh Bora of the Madras Regiment.

Officers from the Parachute Regiment and Special Forces are also prominently represented. The COAS list names Lt Col Nikhil Kumar Maurya of 11 Para (Special Forces), Major Shashank Shivshankar Biradar of 12 Para (Special Forces), Major Ayush Kumar Singh of 2 Para (Special Forces), Major K Karthik of 6 Para (Special Forces) and Captain Khagendra Pun of 12 Para (Special Forces).

Rashtriya Rifles formations feature heavily in the honours as well. The list includes personnel from 22 RR, 26 RR, 31 RR, 39 RR, 42 RR, 50 RR, 55 RR and 59 RR, reflecting the Army’s recognition of those serving in demanding counter-insurgency and operational assignments.

The infantry representation extends across a wide range of regiments, including the Punjab Regiment, Madras Regiment, Maratha Light Infantry, Garhwal Rifles, Rajputana Rifles, Rajput Regiment, Mahar Regiment, Bihar Regiment, Sikh Regiment, Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, Jammu and Kashmir Rifles, Kumaon Regiment, Gorkha Rifles, Dogra Regiment, Grenadiers, Assam Regiment, Naga Regiment and the Brigade of the Guards.

The COAS Commendation Card list is not confined to Army personnel. It also includes members of the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and police organisations, acknowledging contributions connected with defence and joint-service responsibilities. The final page of the list names four Indian Navy personnel, Coast Guard DIG Devasigamani Angello Innocent, and police personnel from the Manipur Police and Delhi Police.

Civilian employees working with defence establishments are also among the recipients. The COAS list includes personnel attached to the Central Public Works Department, Military Secretary's Branch, Adjutant General's Branch, Ministry of Defence Security Office, Naval Headquarters, Military College of Telecommunication Engineering, Rashtriya Indian Military College, NCC Headquarters and Army Base Workshops.

The list ends at serial number 790, confirming the total number of COAS Commendation Card awardees for Independence Day 2026. The range of recipients points to the Army’s recognition of work across combat, technical, administrative, training and support functions that sustain the force and the wider defence establishment.

Separately, the Indian Army has announced 221 recipients of the VCOAS Commendation Card. This seven-page list also spans a broad spectrum of personnel, including officers, JCOs, Other Ranks, Territorial Army personnel, NCC personnel, Border Roads Organisation employees, Military Engineer Service personnel and civilians attached to Army units and institutions.

The VCOAS list covers personnel from the Armoured Corps, Mechanised Infantry, Infantry, Regiment of Artillery, Corps of Engineers, Corps of Signals, Army Air Defence, Army Aviation, Intelligence Corps, Army Service Corps, Army Medical Corps, Military Nursing Service, Army Ordnance Corps, Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers and several other organisations.

It also includes personnel from the Territorial Army and the National Cadet Corps, along with those serving in training, logistics, engineering, medical, administrative and institutional roles outside conventional field formations. The inclusion of such categories reflects the wider support structure that enables Army operations.

The General Reserve Engineers Force and the Border Roads Organisation are represented in the VCOAS list as well. Among the names mentioned are AE (Civil) Vibhishan Kumar Sharma, JE (Civil) Mumtaz Ahmad and OEM Grade-II Rajendra Prasad Saini. Ajay Kumar Chadha is listed from the Military Engineer Service.

At the end of the VCOAS Commendation Card list are 13 civilian employees: Parveen Yadav, Manisha Katyal, Anuj Panwar, Bharat Bhushan, Prashant Sharma, Pratyush Mishra, Manish Kumar, Rekha Rani, Om Prakash Tiwari, Sanjay Kumar Shrivastava, Akshay Kumar, Kuldeep and Sourav Pundhir.

The COAS and VCOAS Commendation Cards are among the Indian Army’s formal recognition mechanisms for personnel whose devotion to duty, professional excellence and contribution to service merit appreciation. The Independence Day 2026 lists show that such recognition extends across the Army’s full ecosystem, from frontline combat units and Special Forces to headquarters, technical branches, training institutions, medical services, engineering organisations and civilian support establishments.

In all, 790 personnel have been named in the COAS Commendation Card list and 221 in the VCOAS Commendation Card list, taking the total number of Independence Day 2026 commendation recipients to 1,011.