Vishisht Seva Medal
The Vishisht Seva Medal is a decoration of the Indian armed forces. It is awarded to recognize "distinguished service of a high order" to all ranks of the Indian Armed forces.
The award may be granted posthumously and subsequent awards are represented by a bar worn on the ribbon. The award carries with it the right to use "VSM" as post-nominal letters. The medal was originally established as the "Vishisht Seva Medal, Class III". It was renamed to its present name on 27 January 1967. The design of the medal remained unchanged and the change be reflected only in the records.
From 1980, the Yudh Seva Medal was introduced to recognize exceptional services in an operational environment. Since then the VSM has been restricted to non-operational service.