24 of India's Young Bravehearts conferred with National Bravery Awards 2014

Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented the National Bravery Awards for the year 2014 to 24 Indian children for 'meritorious acts of bravery against all odds.'

The awards were presented on January 24, 2015.

Twenty-four children, consisting of 8 girls and 16 boys were conferred with National Bravery Awards, divided into five categories. Four of these awards have been awarded posthumously.

The recipients of the National Bravery Awards are presented with a medal, certificate and cash incentive. Also, they get a chance to participate in the Republic Day parade.

The lists of awardees are:

Category: Sanjay Chopra Award

Devesh Kumar (16-year-old; from Uttar Pradesh; awarded for displaying outstanding courage while confronting two chain-snatchers)

Category: Bapu Gaidhani Award

Late Monika (Uttarakhand; lost her life while trying to save a child from drowning)

Rumoh Meto (13-year-old; from Arunachal Pradesh; awarded for saving a person from electrocution)

Late Riya Chaudhary (Uttar Pradesh; sacrificed her life while trying to save her father when some miscreants attacked her family members)

Category: Geeta Chopra Award

Gunjan Sharma (13-year-old, from Assam; awarded for displaying exemplary valour in saving her friends from the clutches of the abductor)

Category: Bharat Award

Resham Fatma (16-year-old; from Uttar Pradesh; victim of acid attack, awarded for putting on a brave face while fighting off her tormentor)

Category: General National Bravery Award

Aqil Mohammad N K (from Kerala)

Anjith. P (from Kerala)

Gaurav Kumar Bharti (from Gujrat)

Hiral Jitubhai Halpati (from Gujrat)

Midhun PP (from Kerala)

Ripa Das (from Tripura)

Zeal Jitendra Marathe (from Gujrat)

Rajdeep Das (from Jharkhand)

Stevenson Lawriniang (from Meghalaya)

Ashwini Bandu Ughade (from Maharashtra)

Gaurav Kumar Bharti (from Uttar Pradesh)

L. Brainson Singh (from Manipur)

Labhanshu (from Uttarakhand)

G. Tooldev Sharma (from Manipur)

Mhonbeni Equng (from Nagaland)

Late Mesak K. Remnalalnghaka (from Mizoram)

Sahanesh R (from Karnataka)

Balram Dansena (from Chhattisgarh)

About National Bravery Awards:

The National Bravery Awards are a set of awards given annually to about 24 Indian children for "meritorious acts of bravery against all odds."

The awards are given by the Government of India and the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW). The award was instituted in 1957.

The awards are given to children who were between the ages of six to eighteen when they committed their acts of bravery.

The award includes a medal, a certificate and a cash prize.

The Bharat Award winner gets a gold medal, while the rest get a silver medal.

Each child is also given financial assistance to complete his or her schooling, as a part of ICCW's sponsorship program, under the Indira Gandhi scholarship scheme.

In 2009, the Government of India announced it was reserving some seats in medical, engineering and polytechnic colleges for the winners of the awards.

The awards are usually announced on November 14, Children's Day or in January the following year, and later presented by the prime minister on the eve of the Republic Day, and prior to this the President hosts a reception in their honour, where the children meet the media.

On January 26, the awardees take part in the Republic Day Parade at Rajpath, New Delhi.

Since the inception of the scheme in 1957, the ICCW has given awards to 895 brave children - 634 boys and 261 girls.