21 CBI Personnel Receive Prestigious Service Medals on Independence Day

Twenty-one officers and officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have been honoured with the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service (PSM) and Medal for Meritorious Service (MSM) on the occasion of Independence Day 2026, recognising sustained professional service across the country’s premier investigative agency.

Six CBI personnel have received the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service, while 15 have been awarded the Medal for Meritorious Service. The honours are part of the wider Independence Day 2026 awards covering police, fire, Home Guard and Civil Defence and correctional services, with 92 PSMs and 664 MSMs announced across these services.

The PSM represents the higher of the two service-medal categories. Under the 2026 Ministry of Home Affairs guidelines, PSM consideration generally requires at least 25 years of service marked by exceptional ability and merit, while MSM requires at least 18 years marked by ability and merit. The awards are not based solely on seniority, with service records, professionalism, integrity and performance forming part of the assessment.

The six PSM recipients are Shobha Dutta, AIG/SP, CBI Complaint & Coordination Cell, New Delhi; Manoj Banerjee, Additional SP, CBI BSFB, Kolkata; Ginni Rana, Additional SP, CBI Academy, Ghaziabad; Sanjay Kumar Samal, DSP, CBI ACB, Visakhapatnam; Ramesh Chand, ASI, CBI Headquarters, New Delhi; and Madan Lal Dhiman, ASI, CBI IPCU, New Delhi.

The 15 MSM recipients include Brijesh Singh, Deputy Legal Advisor; Girish Joshi, Senior System Analyst; DSPs Manoj Kumar, Om Prakash Chandra, Zahir Akhtar Ansari and Ashish Anand; Inspector Sarita Yadav; Sub-Inspector Roshan Kumar; ASI Dilbar Singh Bisht; Head Constables Balkar Singh, Govind Singh Bisht and Kamlesh Kumar Gurjar; and Constables Pal Pandian R, Ajay Kumar Singh and Kalyanadurgam Samiullah.

The awardees represent the diverse nature of CBI operations, spanning anti-corruption and special-crime investigations, legal work, technology, training, coordination and field support. Several recipients are posted with Anti-Corruption Branches across cities including Delhi, Visakhapatnam, Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Madurai, Patna and Bengaluru.

The recognition also cuts across ranks, including senior officers as well as ASIs, Head Constables and Constables, highlighting the collective role of different levels of personnel in sustaining effective investigative work.

Importantly, PSM and MSM are service medals, not gallantry awards. They recognise long-term professional contribution rather than a single act of bravery or one high-profile investigation. The honours therefore underline the importance of integrity, competence and sustained public service across India's law-enforcement institutions.