PM Modi to lead 78th Independence Day celebrations from Red Fort; 6,000 special guests to witness grand event

New Delhi, August 14: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the nation in celebrating the 78th Independence Day from the historic Red Fort in Delhi on August 15. He will unfurl the National Flag and deliver the customary address to the nation from the ramparts of the iconic monument.

The theme of this year’s Independence Day is ‘Viksit Bharat @ 2047’. The celebrations will serve as a platform to provide a renewed push to the government’s efforts towards transforming the country into a developed nation by 2047, an official statement released on Wednesday said.

With the aim to increase Jan Bhagidari in this festival of national fervour, 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 communities, farmers, women and other special guests, have excelled in various fields with the help of various government schemes/initiatives.

Students benefiting from the Atal Innovation Mission & PM SHRI (Prime Minister’s Schools for Rising India) scheme, and volunteers of Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat) & National Service Scheme under ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ will attend the event. The guests also include tribal artisans/Van Dhan Vikas members and tribal entrepreneurs funded by National Scheduled Tribes Finance & 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) & anganwadi workers; elected women representatives; beneficiaries of Sankalp: Hub for Empowerment of Women, Lakhpati Didi & Drone Didi initiatives and Sakhi Kendra scheme; and workers of Child Welfare Committee & District Child Protection Units will also witness the ceremony.

The Indian contingent which took part in the recently concluded Paris Olympics has also been invited to participate in the celebrations. One guest from each block of the Aspirational Blocks Programme; workers of Border Roads Organisation; students from the PRERANA School programme; and sarpanches of Gram Panchayats which achieved saturation in priority sector schemes will also attend the event.

Nearly 2,000 persons from various states/UTs dressed in traditional attire have also been invited to witness the grand ceremony. At least 3,000 winners of different online competitions, organised by the Ministry of Defence in collaboration with MyGov and Akashvani, will also be part of the celebrations.

Upon his arrival at the Red Fort, the Prime Minister will be received by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Mos 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 PM Narendra Modi to the Saluting Base where a combined Inter-Services and Delhi Police Guard will present a 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 & 24 personnel each from the Army, Navy, Air Force & 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 Rajnath Singh, 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 unfurl the National Flag.

Lieutenant Sanjeet Saini will assist the Prime Minister in unfurling the National Flag. 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 each from the Army, Navy & Air Force and 128 personnel of Delhi Police, will present the Rashtriya Salute at the time of unfurling 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 unfurled, the Tricolour will receive a ‘Rashtriya Salute’. The Punjab Regiment Military band, consisting of one JCO and 25 Other Ranks, will play the National Anthem during the unfurling of the National Flag and present the ‘Rashtriya Salute’. The Band will be conducted by Subedar Major Rajinder Singh.

As soon as the National Flag is unfurled 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 the 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. They will be forming ‘My bhaart’ logo with customised tricolour kits. A total of 500 National Service Scheme (NSS) Volunteers will also take part.