The Indian contingent that took part in the recently-concluded Paris Olympics has been invited to participate in the 78th Independence Day celebrations that will be led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15 from the historic Red Fort in Delhi.

PM Modi will hoist the Tricolour and deliver the customary address to the nation from the ramparts of the iconic monument.

The theme for this year’s Independence Day is ‘Viksit Bharat’, reflecting the government’s ambitious vision of transforming India into a developed nation by 2047, which will also mark a century of Independence.

6,000 SPECIAL GUESTS INVITED

Around 6,000 special guests have been invited to witness the celebrations at Red Fort this year. These people from different walks of life, categorised as youth, tribal community, farmers, women and other special guests, have excelled in various fields with the help of various government schemes/initiatives.

Students benefiting from Atal Innovation Mission and Prime Minister’s Schools for Rising India scheme, and volunteers of Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat) and National Service Scheme under ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ will also attend the event. The guests also include tribal artisans/Van Dhan Vikas Members and tribal entrepreneurs funded by National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation, and beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and representatives of Farmers Producing Organisations.

Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA), Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) and Anganwadi workers, elected women representatives, beneficiaries of (Sankalp Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion) and workers of Child Welfare Committee and District Child Protection Units will also witness the ceremony.

Apart from the Indian contingent that took part in the recently-concluded Paris Olympics, one guest from each block of Aspirational Blocks Programme, workers of Border Roads Organisation, students from PRERANA School programme, and sarpanches of Gram Panchayats which achieved saturation in priority sector schemes will also attend the event.

Nearly 2,000 people from various states/Union territories dressed in traditional attire have also been invited to witness the grand ceremony. Three thousand winners of different online competitions, organised by the Ministry of Defence in collaboration with MyGov and Akashvani, will also be part of the celebrations.

THE CEREMONY

Upon his arrival at the Red Fort, the Prime Minister will be received by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth and Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane. The Defence Secretary will introduce the General Officer Commanding (GoC), Delhi Area Lieutenant General Bhavnish Kumar to the Prime Minister. The GoC, Delhi Area, will then conduct the Prime Minister to the saluting base where a combined inter-services and Delhi Police Guard will present general salute to the Prime Minister. Thereafter, the Prime Minister will inspect the Guard of Honour.

The Guard of Honour contingent for the Prime Minister will consist of one officer and 24 personnel each from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Delhi Police. The Indian Navy is the coordinating service this year. The Guard of Honour will be commanded by Commander Arun Kumar Mehta. The Army contingent in the Prime Minister’s Guard will be commanded by Major Arjun Singh, the Naval contingent by Lieutenant Commander Gulia Bhavesh NK and the Air Force contingent by Squadron Leader Akshara Uniyal. The Delhi Police contingent will be commanded by Additional DCP Anurag Dwivedi.

After inspecting the Guard of Honour, the Prime Minister will proceed to the ramparts of the Red Fort where he will be greeted by the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi and Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari. The GoC, Delhi Area, will conduct the Prime Minister to the dais on the ramparts to hoist the National Flag.

Lieutenant Sanjeet Saini will assist the Prime Minister with hoisting the Tricolour. It will be synchronised with the 21 gun salute by the valiant gunners of the 1721 Field Battery (Ceremonial). The ceremonial battery, utilising the indigenous 105mm Light Field Guns, will be commanded by Major Sabnis Kaushik and the Gun Position Officer will be Naib Subedar (AIG) Anuthosh Sarkar.

The National Flag Guard, comprising one officer and 32 Other Ranks (OR) each from the Army, Navy and Air Force and 128 personnel of Delhi Police, will present the ‘Rashtriya Salute’ at the time of hoisting of the National Flag by the Prime Minister. Commander Vinay Dubey will be in command of this Inter-Services Guard and Police Guard.

The Army Contingent in the National Flag Guard will be commanded by Major Dinesh Ngangom, the Naval contingent by Lieutenant Commander Sachin Dhankhar and the Air Force Contingent by Squadron Leader CS Shravan Devaiah. The Delhi Police contingent will be commanded by Additional DCP Achin Garg.

After being hoisted, the Tricolour will receive a ‘Rashtriya Salute’. The Punjab Regiment Military band, consisting of one Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and 25 Other Ranks (OR), will play the National Anthem during the hoisting of the National Flag and presenting the ‘Rashtriya Salute’. The band will be conducted by Subedar Major Rajinder Singh.

As soon as the National Flag is hoisted by the Prime Minister, flower petals will be showered at the venue by two Advanced Light Helicopters Dhruv of the Indian Air Force in the Line Astern Formation. The captains of the helicopters will be Wing Commander Amber Agarwal and Wing Commander Rahul Nainwal.

After the showering of flower petals, the Prime Minister will address the nation. At the conclusion of his speech, the cadets of National Cadet Corps (NCC) will sing the National Anthem. A total of 2,000 boy and girl cadets (Army, Navy and Air Force) from different schools across the country will participate in the celebrations. These cadets will be seated on Gyanpath, opposite the Rampart. A total of 500 National Service Scheme (NSS) volunteers will also take part.