As a tribute to soldiers who fought valiantly and made supreme sacrifice in the Kargil war, President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday presented a cheque of Rs 20 lakh to the Army Hospital (Research and Referral), Delhi, to buy equipment that will help doctors and paramedics to combat the COVID-19 pandemic effectively.

Today is the 21st anniversary of the Kargil war victory which is celebrated as Vijay Diwas.

The contribution from the President to the Army Hospital will be used to procure units of PAPR (powered air purifying respirator), which are state-of-art equipment to enable medical professionals breathe during surgeries and protect them from infection. This will serve the larger cause of patients' care and protection to those warriors who are fighting an invisible enemy, an official release stated.

In his role as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, the President's gesture will boost the morale of the frontline COVID Warriors of the Army Hospital. "The President's contribution to the Army Hospital has been made possible due to an exercise to economise expenditure in the Rashtrapati Bhavan and thus make more resources available to contain COVID-19," an official release stated.