The far-flung village of Jhunni Kala in Bihar's Purnia district, Urmila Devi beams with pride at her son's achievement. Her son, Air Marshal Awadhesh Kumar Bharti, was also declared a national asset because he was among the best performers during Operation Sindoor.

He is merely 8 years old, a boy from Karur, who has won the heart of millions of Indians by donating his savings for the Indian army. The second-grade student had been saving his pocket money and small contributions from family members over the past 10 months with the intention of supporting the country's armed forces.

During a virtual address at the inauguration of the BrahMos Integration and Testing Facility Centre in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), the Defence Minister (Raksha Mantri) of India Rajnath Singh shared: “Operation ‘Sindoor’ was not just a military action, but a symbol of India's political, social and strategic willpower.”