The MacGregor Medal is awarded to Indian Armed Forces

Indian Armed Forces

The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. They consist of the Army, Navy and Air Force, supported by three paramilitary forces and various inter-service institutions such as the Strategic Forces Command.The President of India is...

 personnel for valuable military reconnaissance

Reconnaissance

Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....

. The medal was instituted in 1888 to honour the memory of The United Service Institution of India founder, Maj Gen Sir Charles MacGregor

Charles MacGregor

Major-General Sir Charles Metcalfe MacGregor KCB CSI CIE was an Anglo-Indian explorer, geographer and officer of the British Indian Army. He was the Quartermaster General for the British Army in India, the head of the Intelligence Department for the British Indian Army and served under Frederick...

.

After the partition of British India into India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 and Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, the award was adopted by India and continues to this day. So far 117 medals have been awarded: 7 gold medals to officers, 62 standard size silver medals to officers (including 5 JCO

Junior Commissioned Officer

Junior commissioned officer is a term describing a group of military ranks found in the Indian Army, Pakistan Army, Bangladesh Army and Nepal Army. Those soldiers holding JCO rank receive a commission from the President,...

s), and 48 reduced size silver medals to soldiers.

Recipients

Notable British Indian Officers to have been awarded the MacGregor Medal include Francis Younghusband

Francis Younghusband

Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband, KCSI, KCIE was a British Army officer, explorer, and spiritual writer...

 (1890), Orde Charles Wingate

Orde Charles Wingate

Major-General Orde Charles Wingate, DSO and two bars , was a British Army officer and creator of special military units in Palestine in the 1930s and in World War II....

 (1943) and Frederick Marshman Bailey.

Indian Officers who have won the medal:

• Capt. Mihr Din (Bengal, Sappers and Miners) (1899)
• Sub Hyder Ali (106 Hazara Pioneers) (1920)
• Lt Gen Zorawar Chand Bakhshi
  Zorawar Chand Bakhshi
  Lt. Gen. Zorawar Chand Bakhshi is a retired soldier of the Indian Army, and has the distinction of being "India's most decorated General"-Family and Early Life:...
  
   (1949)
• Col IC Katoch (1951)
• Capt MS Jarg (1956)
• 2/Lt IB Goel (1956)
• Capt V Badhwar (1957)
• Capt SL Tugnait (1959)
• Brig ML Whig (1969)
• Maj Prem Chand (1970)
• Col CS Nugyal (1971)
• Capt Ravindra Misra (1972)
• Sqn Ldr RK Makar (1986)
• Flt Lt Rana Chhina
  Rana Chhina
  Squadron Leader Rana Tej Pratap Singh Chhina , a writer and military historian, is a veteran of the Indian Air Force.Born and raised in New Delhi, Chhina was selected for the National Defence Academy in 1976,shortly after graduating from St...
  
  (1986)
• Lt Col NJ Korgaonkar (1997)

* Col. N. Kumar (Bull) (2010)

One officer has been awarded the medal twice - Major AS Lancaster in 1938, and then as Colonel in 1946.