Pune: The 2026 Lokmanya Tilak National Award has been conferred on National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval. The award was presented to Doval by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Pune.
According to the Tilak Smarak Trust, Doval has been selected for the prestigious award for his significant contribution to national security.
Doval, 81, has handled crucial assignments in sensitive regions, including Mizoram, Sikkim, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. He also served in diplomatic roles at Indian missions in Islamabad and London.
He is the longest-serving National Security Advisor of India. Doval has served as India's special representative for the India-China boundary talks and is also credited with playing an important role in diplomatic efforts that helped resolve the Doklam standoff.
Instituted in 1983, the Lokmanya Tilak Award was first conferred on socialist leader S M Joshi, the Trust had said.
It is awarded every year on August 1, the death anniversary of freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak, to individuals who have made a remarkable contribution to the nation's progress and development.
Over the years, the award has been presented to several eminent personalities, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh, and Indira Gandhi, ex-President Pranab Mukherjee and veteran politician Sharad Pawar.
Separately, Shah paid tributes to legendary Marathi poet and social reformer Lokshahir Annabhau Sathe on his birth anniversary during his visit to Pune.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, along with Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar, joined Shah in the Sarasbaug area, where several local leaders and dignitaries also offered flowers to Sathe's statue.
Born on 1 August 1920, Annabhau Sathe was a legendary social reformer, folk poet, and pioneer of Dalit literature in Maharashtra.