THEBUSINESSBYTES
BUREAU
NEW DELHI,
JANUARY 26, 2026
In a stirring moment that blended the
pride of the Republic with the boundless promise of the future, President
Droupadi Murmu on Monday conferred the Ashok Chakra, India’s highest peacetime
gallantry award, upon Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla during the 77th Republic
Day celebrations at Kartavya Path. The honour recognizes the Indian Air Force
officer’s exceptional courage, composure and resolve during the historic
Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station, a feat that carried India’s
tricolour beyond Earth’s frontiers.
The award ceremony, held soon after
the traditional 21-gun salute, resonated with national pride as the President
approved gallantry decorations for 70 armed forces personnel on the eve of
Republic Day. Officials said the decision to bestow the Ashok Chakra on an
astronaut underlines the evolving nature of bravery in the 21st century, where
courage is measured not only on battlefields but also in the unforgiving vacuum
of space, in service of science, strategy and national aspiration.
Group Captain Shukla etched his name
into history in June 2025 by becoming the first Indian astronaut to set foot on
the International Space Station. Serving as the mission pilot for the 18-day
Axiom-4 voyage, he became only the second Indian citizen to travel into space,
following Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma’s iconic mission in 1984. Undertaken as
a collaborative endeavour involving ISRO and NASA, the mission saw Shukla successfully
execute complex operations while overseeing more than 60 advanced scientific
experiments in microgravity, including critical studies on space anemia and
cardiovascular health that will shape the future of long-duration human
spaceflight.
Hailing from Lucknow, Group Captain
Shukla embodies the finest traditions of the Indian Air Force. An accomplished
test pilot with over 2,000 flying hours, he has mastered some of the world’s
most advanced fighter aircraft, including the Su-30MKI and MiG-29. His calm
leadership and technical excellence aboard the space station are widely
regarded as a vital precursor to India’s ambitious indigenous human spaceflight
programme, Gaganyaan.
As the Republic marked another year of
its constitutional journey, the Ashok Chakra awarded to Group Captain Shukla
stood as a powerful symbol of a New India — confident, courageous and
future-ready. From the skies he once guarded to the stars he now touched, his
journey reflects the nation’s unyielding spirit and its resolve to claim its
rightful place among the leading spacefaring powers of the world.
