Mention-in-Despatch: Unveiling the Lotus Insignia for Operation Sindoor Officers

• President Droupadi Murmu announced 98 Mention-in-Despatch awards on Republic Day eve, including two intelligence officers for Operation Sindoor.
• Mention-in-Despatch is a prestigious honour for exceptional service cited in official operational reports by commanding officers.
• Recipients wear a distinctive lotus leaf emblem on their service medal ribbon instead of receiving a separate medal.
• Colonels Amit Kumar Yadav and Vinay Kumar Pandey from Intelligence and Field Security Units were recognized for the highly sensitive, covert Operation Sindoor.
• The award, dating back to WWI, was retained by India post-independence, replacing the British oak leaf with the national flower, the lotus.

Why It Matters: Mention-in-Despatch, marked by a lotus insignia, honours exceptional military service, especially in covert operations.