The Army on Tuesday said it has concluded a contract for procurement of 17.27 lakh service medals of 17 different types.
“The procurement has enabled Army to meet all outstanding demands of service medals in respect of soldiers who have served and are serving in the Army,” the Army said on Twitter.
In January 2017, The Hindu had reported that the Department of Medals in the Defence Ministry, which is responsible for issuing original medals, had not provided any medals since 2008 expect for gallantry and Distinguished Service medals presented by the President during investiture ceremonies.
Due to this, the personnel were forced to purchase duplicate medals from the local markets. Following this, the then Defence Minister late Manohar Parrikar had sought a report on the issue and directed measures to address the shortage.