Home Minister Amit Shah to Present Lokmanya Tilak Award to NSA Ajit Doval in Pune on Aug 1
Pune, 20th July 2026: National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval has been selected for the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak Award for his contribution to India’s national security. The award will be presented by Union home minister Amit Shah on August 1 in Pune.
Announcing the award at a press conference on Monday, Tilak Smarak Trust president Dr Rohit Tilak said the ceremony will be held at 12 noon at the Maharashtriya Mandal ground in Gultekdi. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, and deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar are expected to attend the function.
Doval, who has served as India’s National Security Advisor since 2014, is the longest-serving person to hold the post. Born on January 20, 1945, in Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, he joined the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1968 as a Kerala cadre officer after clearing the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination.
He was inducted into the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in 1972 and handled several sensitive assignments in Mizoram, Sikkim, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir. He also served in diplomatic roles at the Indian High Commissions in Islamabad and London before retiring as Director of the Intelligence Bureau in January 2005.
Doval is widely credited with shaping India’s national security strategy, particularly its approach towards Pakistan. Along with external affairs minister S Jaishankar and former Indian ambassador to China Vijay Gokhale, he played a key role in resolving the Doklam standoff through diplomatic negotiations. He also serves as India’s Special Representative for boundary talks with China.
He is the first police officer to receive the Kirti Chakra, one of India’s highest peacetime gallantry awards, for his role in Operation Black Thunder II. He was also the youngest police officer to receive the Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 1974 and has been conferred the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service, besides several honorary doctorates from universities.
Instituted in 1983, the Lokmanya Tilak Award recognises individuals for outstanding contributions in various fields. The first recipient was veteran socialist leader S.M. Joshi. Previous awardees include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, former President Pranab Mukherjee, Sharad Pawar, Nitin Gadkari, Rahul Bajaj, N.R. Narayana Murthy, K. Sivan, Cyrus Poonawalla, Sudha Murty and several other distinguished personalities.
