The Sainya Seva Medal is a medal of the

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by ...

. The medal is awarded in recognition of non-operational service under conditions of hardship and severe climate in specified areas.

History

The Sainya Seva Medal was instituted on 26 January 1960 by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

, with the approval of the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

. Five other medals were instituted on the same day - the Vishisht Seva Medal series (Class I, Class II, Class III), the

Videsh Seva Medal The Videsh Seva Medal is a service medal of the Indian Armed Forces. It is presented to all ranks of the three services for services rendered outside India. It was instituted on 26 January 1960. It can also be awarded posthumously. History The Vid ...

Sena Medal The Sena Medal is awarded to members of the Indian army, of all ranks, "for such individual acts of exceptional devotion to duty or courage as have special significance for the Army." Awards may be made posthumously and a bar is authorized for s ...

Nao Sena Medal Nau Sena Medal (also spelt ''Nao Sena Medal'', lit. ''Navy Medal'') is a gallantry award for servicemen in the Indian Navy. History The Nao Sena Medal was instituted on 26 January 1960 by the Government of India, with the approval of the Presid ...

and the

Vayu Sena Medal The Vayu Sena Medal is a military decoration, usually awarded in peacetime for a job well done in the Indian Air Force. However, it has been granted during times of conflict for acts of gallantry in the face of enemy, though not in the same nu ...

Criteria

The Sainya Seva Medal is awarded for an aggregate of one year non-operational service in a defined geographic area. These areas are considered to have hardship conditions and severe climates. The medal is always awarded with a clasp. An individual qualifying for the medal for the first time shall be awarded the medal, together with a clasp on which shall be inscribed the place where the service was rendered. Subsequent awards of the medal will only result in being awarded the clasp indicating the place where the service was rendered. The medal may be awarded to commissioned officers, junior commissioned officers, other ranks, and Non-Combatants (enrolled) of the regular Army. Auxiliary, Reserve Forces, Nursing Officers, and other members of Nursing Services or any other lawfully constituted Armed Forces (such as police forces and central armed police forces)may also be awarded the medal.

Clasps

The Sainya Seva Medal is awarded with the following clasps: ;Jammu and Kashmir Instituted 2 June 1960 and amended in 1967 and 1973, the clasp is awarded for an aggregate of one year of service in Jammu and Kashmir since 27 October 1947. Air force personnel may be eligible for award if they have carried out a minimum of ten sorties or forty hours of flying after 27 October 1947. Service used to qualify for the

General Service Medal 1947 The General Service Medal 1947 is a military service medal of India, established by the President of India on 5 June 1950. It was awarded for service in Jammu and Kashmir during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, up through service in the Mizo Hills ...

or for the Himalaya clasp will not be counted towards the Jammu and Kashmir clasp. The clasp bears inscription जम्मू कश्मीर separated by an image of a chinar leaf. ;NEFA Instituted 2 June 1960 and amended in 1966 and 1973, the clasp is awarded for an aggregate of one year of service in the

North-East Frontier Agency The North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), originally known as the North-East Frontier Tracts (NEFT), was one of the political divisions in British India, and later the Republic of India until 20 January 1972, when it became the Union Territory of ...

(NEFA) employed in the construction of roads and airfields between 7 October 1952 and 15 November 1958. The clasp is also awarded to those personnel seconded to the

Assam Rifles The Assam Rifles (AR) is a central paramilitary force responsible for border security, counter-insurgency, and maintaining law and order in Northeast India. It guards the Indo-Myanmar border. The Assam rifles is the oldest paramilitary force ...

who complete an aggregate of one year of service in NEFA after 15 August 1947, and Air Force personnel who carried out a minimum of ten sorties or forty hours of flying after 7 October 1952. Service used to qualify for the Himalaya clasp will not be counted towards this clasp. The clasp bears a design like a horizontal stalk of bamboo with ने फ़ा engraved upon it. ;Himalaya Instituted 2 June 1960 and amended in 1964 and 1966, the clasp is awarded for an aggregate of one year of service in the defence of the northern in areas in the Himalayas. This roughly corresponds to portions of NEFA, and the Tibet borders of

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

and

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

. Air Force personnel must have carried out a minimum of ten sorties or forty hours of flying in areas and time periods specified to be eligible for award. The clasps bears the word हिमालय separated in the middle by a depiction of a

pine tree A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

. This clasp has not been awarded since 1986, with qualifying service now being recognized by the

High Altitude Service Medal High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift to ...

. ;Bengal-Assam Instituted 2 June 1960 and amended in 1967, the clasp is awarded for an aggregate of one year of service in specified areas of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

and

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

after 26 October 1962. For flying personnel qualifying service is 10 sorties or 40 hours of flying over the specified areas of West Bengal and Assam after 26 October 1962. The clasp is plain with the words बंगाल and असम separated by a dash. ;Andaman and Nicobar Instituted 2 June 1960 and amended in 1967, the clasp is awarded for an aggregate of one year of service in the

Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated f ...

after 20 May 1966. Flying personnel may qualify by completing 50 hours of flying in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands after 20 May 1966. The clasp bears the inscription अण्डमान और निकोबार with

lotus flower ''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as sacred lotus, Laxmi lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often ref ...

s on either side. ;Marusthal Instituted 20 July 1984, the clasp is awarded for an aggregate of one year of service in qualifying desert areas of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

and

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

. Flying personnel may qualify by completing 10 sorties or 40 hours of flying over specified areas. The clasp is plain with the inscription मरुस्थल. ;6YR Sea Service Instituted in the year 2017, through Gazette notification by

, all personnel of

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

who have rendered cumulative 6 (six) years of sea service for anti-piracy operations, seaward defence, coastal patrolling, deployment etc. qualify for wearing Sainya Seva Medal.

Appearance

The Sainya Seva Medal is circular in shape, made of cupro-nickel, in diameter. The medal hangs from straight suspension bar, to which the clasps are mounted. The

obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''o ...

depicts

Nanda Devi Nanda Devi is the second-highest mountain in India, after Kangchenjunga, and the highest located entirely within the country (Kangchenjunga is on the border of India and Nepal). It is the 23rd-highest peak in the world. Nanda Devi was consid ...

with bamboo in the foreground. The reverse depicts one of the gates of

Purana Qila Purana Qila () is one of the oldest forts in Delhi, India. Built by the second Mughal Emperor Humayun and Surid Sultan Sher Shah Suri, it is thought by many to be located on the site of the ancient city of Indraprastha. The fort formed the inn ...

. Above is inscribed the words Sainya Seva Medal in Hindi script. The ribbon of the medal is

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent i ...

in color . There is a single vertical stripe of white and another of dark green dividing which divides the ribbon equally in to three parts.

References

{{Indian honours and decorations, state=autocollapse Military awards and decorations of India