NEW DELHI: A staggering 16.82 lakh service medals are yet to be issued to personnel from the Army, the Navy and the Indian Air Force, the government told the Rajya Sabha today.
Replying to a question, minister of state for defence Subhash Bhamre said steps have been taken to streamline the process to procure medals so that the backlog can be cleared.
"As on December 31, 2016, around 16,82,577 service medals are pending for issue," he said.
Bhamre said a total of 9.88 lakh service medals were issued to the armed forces since 2008.
"The Directorate of Military Regulations and Forms was earlier issuing service medals to the respective Record Offices. This work has now been transferred to the respective service headquarters," he said.
To a separate question, Bhamre said Karnataka government agencies have given a list of 18 proposals for infrastructure projects indicating requirement of 60 acres of defence land for them.