NSA Ajit Doval honoured with Lokmanya Tilak National Award in Pune, Amit Shah presents award on August 1
Pune witnessed a glittering ceremony on August 1, 2026, the 106th death anniversary of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, as National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was conferred the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak National Award for his outstanding contribution to India’s national security.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah presented the award to the 81-year-old NSA at the function held at the Kataria High School Ground in Mukundnagar, Pune. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar were also present at the event.
In his address, Amit Shah said Doval’s work in strengthening India’s internal and external security would ensure that “a golden page” in the country’s history is reserved for him.
Accepting the honour, Doval urged young people to place the nation’s interests above personal ambitions and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah for their leadership.
He also recalled his childhood connection with Pune, where he spent about a year and a half when his father was posted with the Army.
Doval spoke of going with his mother to the Chaturshringi Temple and of hearing stories of Lokmanya Tilak during school assemblies in the city when he was around five years old.
The Lokmanya Tilak Smarak Trust, which institutes the award, said Doval was selected for his pivotal role in strengthening India’s national security architecture through counter-terrorism operations, strategic intelligence, border security and defence policy.
The award comprises a memento, a citation and a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh.
Doval, a 1968-batch IPS officer of the Kerala cadre, is India’s longest-serving National Security Advisor, holding the post since 2014. Over a career spanning more than three decades in the Intelligence Bureau, he handled crucial assignments in sensitive regions including Mizoram, Sikkim, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, and served in Indian missions in Islamabad and London.
The Trust highlighted his association with key national security operations such as Operation Black Thunder, Operation Hot Pursuit, the Doklam diplomatic negotiations, the Balakot air strike, and the response after the 2019 Pulwama terror attack. He also served as India’s special representative for the India-China boundary talks.
Instituted in 1983, the Lokmanya Tilak Award is given every year on August 1 to individuals who have made a remarkable contribution to the nation’s progress and development. The first recipient was socialist leader S M Joshi. Past awardees include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former PMs Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, former President Pranab Mukherjee and veteran leader Sharad Pawar.
The ceremony underscored both Doval’s decades of service and the award’s legacy of recognising nation-builders on the day India remembers Lokmanya Tilak’s call of “Swaraj is my birthright.”
