Overview
- The Union Home Ministry announced the 2026 honorees on January 23, following a process that drew 271 nominations for the annual award instituted in 2018.
- Lieutenant Colonel Seeta Ashok Shelke was cited for leading large-scale HADR operations in Wayanad during the 2024 floods and landslides, coordinating evacuations, relief distribution, and service restoration that saved hundreds.
- Her engineering interventions included a 190‑foot Bailey bridge at Chooralmala, an improvised footbridge built overnight in four hours, use of a Komatsu PC210 excavator as a counterweight, and the mobilization of about 150 tonnes of equipment.
- Shelke has also trained more than 2,300 personnel in disaster response and humanitarian operations, reflecting the growing operational role of women in disaster risk reduction.
- The Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority was recognized for deploying 1,185 trained Aapda Mitras across village, block, and district levels, with its model credited for 2,563 rescues during the 2016 Mantam landslide and the 2023 Teesta floods.