During a ceremony on Parakram Diwas on January 23, 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi named 21 large unnamed islands in Andaman and Nicobar after Param Vir Chakra awardees.

The Prime Minister also unveiled a model of Netaji's National Memorial, which will be built on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, formerly known as the Ross Islands.

The Prime Minister stated on several occasions that the naming of the 21 districts, including 'Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat,' contains many messages.

"Today, the twenty-first century is witnessing how Netaji Subhash, who was tried to be forgotten after independence, is remembered by the country at every moment," PM Modi added.

"For decades, there has been a call to declassify Netaji files. The country also did this work with zeal," he added.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah was in Andaman and the Nicobar Islands on this occasion.

Shah stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative to name islands after Param Vir Chakra awardees would ensure their memory would live on in perpetuity.

It is worth noting that the largest island was named after the first Param Vir Chakra awardee, Major Somnath, who was killed while repelling Pakistani infiltrators near Srinagar Airport on November 3, 1947.

The 21 Param Vir Chakra Awardees, after whom the islands have been named are: Major Somnath Sharma; Subedar and Hony Captain (then Lance Naik) Karam Singh, MM; 2nd Lt. Rama Raghoba Rane; Nayak Jadunath Singh; Company Havildar Major Piru Singh; Capt. GS Salaria; Lieutenant Colonel (then Major) Dhan Singh Thapa; Subedar Joginder Singh; Major Shaitan Singh; CQMH. Abdul Hamid; Lt Col Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore; Lance Naik Albert Ekka; Major Hoshiar Singh; 2nd Lt. Arun Khetrapal; Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon; Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran; Naib Subedar Bana Singh; Captain Vikram Batra; Lt Manoj Kumar Pandey; Subedar Major (then RifleMan) Sanjay Kumar; and Subedar Major Retd (Hony Captain) Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav.

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