CRPF’s Chetan Cheeta to receive Kirti Chakra today
CRPF commandant Chetan Kumar Cheeta, who sustained multiple gunshot wounds during a February encounter with militants in Kashmir, is among the five security personnel who will be honoured with Kirti Chakra — country’s secondhighest peacetime gallantry award — on Independence Day.
Cheeta had suffered severe head, jaw and eye injuries and had fractured his hands during the Bandipora encounter, in which three soldiers and a militant were killed. He fought for his life for over a month at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and was discharged from the hospital in April.
Major David Manlun, who died fighting militants in Nagaland’s Mon district in June, Havildar Giris Gurung and CRPF commandant Pramod Kumar will be awarded the medal posthumously
Major Preetam Singh Kunwar will be the other recipient of Kirti Chakra.
President Ram Nath Kovind approved 112 gallantry awards, including 17 Shaurya Chakras and 85 Sena Medals (Gallantry) on the eve of Independence Day. The army carried out surgical strikes against terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir last September after India “ran out of patience” as the terrorists were not only targeting the armed forces but also civilians, defence and finance minister Arun Jaitley said.
In his customary broadcast to the armed forces on the eve of the Independence Day, Jaitley said, “Despite our repeated requests to our Western neighbour not to use our territory occupied by it not only to train terrorists but also use it as launch pad for pushing these militants into India, such nefarious activities continued.” He said the army conducted surgical strikes at several of these launch pads to pre-empt infiltration by terrorists.
India’s retail price inflation reversed its downward momentum and accelerated to 2.36% in July as vegetable prices shot up, reducing the probability of any near term chance of an interest rate cut by the central bank.
Consumer price index (CPI) based inflation stood at 1.46% a month ago. Vegetable prices rose 3.57% in July from a contraction of 16.53% in June, data released by Central Statistics Office on Monday showed.
Data separately released on Monday by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion showed India’s wholesale price index -based inflation increased to 1.88% in July, led by increases in food and mineral prices, compared to a 0.90% rise a month ago.
Inflation for housing (4.98%) and fuel and light (4.86%) segments also accelerated in July, reflecting the government’s decision to implement the recommen-