The Vir Chakra was third in precedence in Gallantry Awards earned in the battle and is awarded for those actions which are conspicuous but does not qualify for the award of the PVC or the MVC. The Awardees are entitled to append the letters “Vr.C.” to denote their decoration. The Indian Air Force received 200 Vir Chakras over the 50 years since Independence. the Majority of them, 104 during the 1971 Conflict. The 200 Vir Chakras also includes four Bars to VrCs, three of which were awarded during the 71 Conflict. Only two awards were ever made to an NCO, to Warrant Officer D Ghosh and Warrant Officer A Thomas in 1950. All other awards were made to Officers.
The Listings of the VrC awardees is given by Conflict Name, click on the links below each conflict to see the descriptions and details of awards in the years they have been made.
| Jammu & Kashmir Ops 1950 |
Congo Ops & India-China War 1962 & 1963 |
India-Pakistan War 1965 & 1966 |
The Bangladesh War 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 |
Siachen Glacier and Sri Lankan Operations 1988, 1989, 1990, 1998 |
Kargil War 1999 |