The Prime Minister of India presented the National Bravery Awards to 25 children for acts of extraordinary bravery in dangerous situations. The awards are given to children ages 6 to 18 by the Indian Council for Child Welfare and include saving others from drowning, rescuing friends from fires, fighting off wild animals, and more. The document then describes the brave acts of 15 award recipients, including an 8-year-old who saved two classmates from a train accident and a 14-year-old who was honored posthumously for trying to save his friend from drowning.

2. New Delhi witnessed the gathering of some of India’s
bravest children on January 24, when Prime Minister
Narendra Modi presented the National Bravery
Awards to them. From a 16-year-old who fought off a
tiger, to a 13-year-old who lost his life while trying to
save his friend from drowning – these three girls and
22 boys showed incredible bravery in the face of some
very dangerous situations.

3. The National Bravery Award scheme, initiated by
the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW),
was started with the aim of awarding children in
the age group of 6-18 years, who display
outstanding bravery and inspire other children
with their actions.

4. The awards consist of five categories including the
Bharat Award, Sanjay Chopra Award, Geeta
Chopra Award, Bapu Gaidhani Award and the
General National Bravery Awards.

5. 1. Shivampet Ruchitha, Telangana
8-year-old Shivampet Ruchitha became the youngest
person to receive the award this year. On July 24,
2014, Ruchita saved two of her school mates when a
train hit their school bus. She noticed that their bus
had stopped on a railway track and a train was
coming towards them. Showing extraordinary
presence of mind, she pushed two students out of
the window and jumped off the bus herself too.
Unfortunately, she could not save her younger sister
who was sitting in the front row. Her younger
brother sustained severe injuries, but he has
recovered now. 16 students, the driver, and the
conductor lost their lives in that accident. She was
honored with the Geeta Chopra award.

6. 2. Arjun Singh, Uttarakhand
In July 2014, a tiger entered 16-year-old Arjun Singh’s
house in Uttarakhand. He showed extreme courage and
fought it off, saving his mother’s life who had fainted
as soon as the tiger entered. Arjun went into a room
and picked up a sickle to fight the tiger. As it was too
small to hit from a distance, Arjun grabbed a stick and
waved it towards the tiger. He did not stop until the
villagers reached there and the animal ran away on
seeing the crowd. Arjun received the Sanjay Chopra
award.

7. 3. Late Shivansh Singh, Uttar Pradesh
Shivansh Singh, a 14-year-old medal-winning
swimmer from Faizabad, was posthumously
honoured with the prestigious Bharat Award. He
lost his life while trying to save his friend from
drowning in the Saryu River.
“I wish he was here. Seeing all these boys and girls
enjoy their moment of glory, I wish my son could
have been part of this,” his mother, Neelam Singh,
told The Telegraph.

8. 4. Late Gaurav Kawduji
Sahastrabuddhe, Maharashtra
Gaurav was only 15 when he lost his life while rescuing four
of his friends from drowning in the Ambazari lake. He was a
good swimmer and had gone to the lake one afternoon in
June 2014. While playing in the water, his friends suddenly
started drowning. According to the police, Gaurav swam for
20 minutes and rescued them all. But while trying to pull out
the last boy, he hit his head on a submerged stone and
drowned. He received the Bharat Award.

9. 5. Aromal SM, Kerala
12-year-old Aromal is one of the six winners
from Kerala. He saved two women from
drowning in a 14-feet pond and was
honoured with the Bapu Gaidhani Award.

10. 6. Rakeshbhai Shanabhai Patel, Gujarat
This 13-year-old received the Bapu
Gaidhani Award for saving a boy who
accidentally fell into a well.

11. 7. Ramdinthara, Mizoram
On January 2, 2015, Ramdinthara saved two
boys who were stuck on a transformer fence.
The 15-year-old pulled the boys out with his
bare hands and took them to the hospital.
Son of a tea-seller, Ramdinthara was walking
past the transformer when he saw that two
boys were struggling to free themselves after
falling on the fence. He overcame his fear in
just a few seconds and grabbed their hair to
pull them up. He received the Bapu Gaidhani
Award.

12. 8. Abinash Mishra, Odisha
Abinash Mishra, 12, saw his friend drowning in
Kushabhadra River. Without thinking twice, he just
jumped into the river and swam to the shore after
saving his friend. He is one of the recipients of the
General National Bravery Award.

13. 9. Chongtham Kuber Meitei, Manipur
13-year-old Chongtham Kuber Meitei became a
local hero after he jumped into a 10-feet deep
well to save a girl from drowning. He was
awarded with the General National Bravery
Award.
“I won’t lie, I was really scared. But I had to jump
into the well to get to her. She would have
drowned,” he told The Telegraph.

14. 10. Kashish Dhanani, Gujarat
10-year-old Kashish protected his 15-months-old
sibling from a German Shepherd. He received the
General National Bravery Award.

15. 11. Muhammad Shamnad, Kerala
14-year-old Muhammad Shamnad showed
outstanding courage when he risked his life to
save a little girl from drowning in a pond. He
received the General National Bravery Award.

16. 12. Mohit Mahendra Dalvi, Maharashtra
14-year-old Mohit saved his 10-year-old neighbour from
drowning in Banganga Lake last year. When Krishna
Pashtye slipped into the lake, Mohit was the only one of
the hundreds of onlookers who had the courage to dive
into the lake and save her. He was honoured with
General National Bravery Award.
“I knew how to swim and so jumped in confidently. I saw
the girl’s leg had stuck in mud in a ditch. I tried to get her
leg out and managed to pull her out. When we came out,
others rushed and helped us,” said Mohit, an orphan
who lives with his paternal aunt.

17. 13. Abhijith K.V, Kerala
15-year-old Abhijith was honoured with the General
National Bravery Award for saving his friend from
drowning in a 25 feet deep pond.

18. 14. Sarwanand Saha, Chhattisgarh
Sarwanand Saha received the General
National Bravery Award for saving a man
from drowning in Mahanadi River.

19. 15. Sai Krishna Akhil Kilambi, Telangana
This 15-year-old saved his mother from electrocution. His
mother came in contact with a live electric wire at their
residence in Agapura when she was washing the floor. Sai
Krishna was quick to think on his feet and he instantly rushed
forward to turn off the mains supply while making sure that
he did not step into the water. He was honoured with the
General National Bravery Award

20. 16. Dishant Mehndiratta, Haryana
On April 4, 2015, Dishant Mehndiratta was at his home in Panchkula,
with his mother and younger brother. His father had just left for work
when a stranger knocked at the door asking for him. The family invited
him in and Dishant’s mother, Archana, called her husband to inform
about the visitor. His father couldn’t recognise the man and asked him
to come later. This was when the stranger asked if he could use the
toilet. And while Archana was leading the way to show him the
bathroom, he suddenly took out a knife and put it on her neck. He
started threatening the children, asking them to bring out all the cash
and valuables. Dishant made a quick plan and fell down on the man’s
feet pretending to plead with him. And after a few seconds, he
suddenly stood up, grabbed the knife from his hand, and threw it away.
The family raised an alarm and got him arrested. Dishant received the
General National Bravery Award for this courageous act.

21. 17. Joena Chakraborty, Chhattisgarh
When a man snatched away her father’s mobile
phone, 10-year-old Joena Chakraborty started
running after him without wasting a single second,
and brought the phone back.
“I knew he would head for a narrow alley, so I
reached there before him and caught his legs even
though people were shouting that he had a knife,”
she said

22. 18. Nilesh Bhil, Maharashtra
Nilesh Bhil from Kothli was awarded the General
National Bravery Award for saving a boy from
drowning.

23. 19. Beedhovan, Kerala
14-year-old Beedhovan saved a boy from
electrocution and was honoured with the
General National Bravery Award.

24. 20. Nithin Philip Mathew, Kerala
13-year-old Nithin was honoured for saving his
neighbour’s family after their house caught fire in a
cylinder blast.

25. 21. Bhimsen, Uttar Pradesh

26. 22. Angelica Tynsong, Meghalaya
Angelica Tynsong, 13, from Ri Bhoi district, saved her
7-month-old brother when their house caught fire on
February 1, 2015. Her brother was sleeping while she
was washing clothes, and their parents were not
present in the house at the time of the incident.

27. 23. Anandu Dileep, Kerala
14-year-old Anandu Dileep was going to his tuition class
with his friends. They were crossing a bridge when his
friend slipped and fell into the 10-feet-deep canal.
Anandu jumped into the water and rescued him.

28. 24. Maurice Yengkhom, Manipur
Maurice was playing on the terrace with his friend who
suddenly got an electric shock. Had it not been for
Maurice’s presence of mind, his friend would have lost
his life. The 14-year-old picked up a cane chair and
started hitting him till he was free.

29. 25. Vaibhav Ramesh
Ghangare, Maharashtra
Vaibhav Ramesh Ghangare from Wardha also
received the General National Bravery Award. He
saved a 6-year-old child from drowning.

30. Jai Hind!