PM Modi set to address nation on I-Day for 9th straight time
New Delhi, Aug 15: On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hoist the national flag at the ramparts of Red Fort and address the nation for the ninth consecutive time. The August 15 ceremony is particularly significant this year as it marks the 75th anniversary of India's independence, with the government launching a host of exercises to add to the verve around the celebration.
The Independence Day celebration comes at a time when India, like most countries, is seen to be coming out of the grim shadows of Covid-19, which crippled normal life and marred economic activities after its outbreak in 2020.
Defence
Minister
to
Receive
PM
Upon
his
arrival
at
the
Red
Fort,
the
Prime
Minister
will
be
received
by
Defence
Minister
Rajnath
Singh,
MoS
Defence
Ajay
Bhatt
and
Defence
Secretary
Dr
Ajay
Kumar.
The
Defence
Secretary
will
introduce
the
General
Officer
Commanding
(GoC),
Delhi
Area,
Lieutenant
General
Vijay
Kumar
Mishra,
AVSM,
to
the
Prime
Minister.
The
GoC
Delhi
Area
will
then
conduct
Narendra
Modi
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,
as
per
a
statement
from
the
Prime
Minister's
Office.
Guard
of
Honour
contingent
The
Guard
of
Honour
contingent
for
the
Prime
Minister
will
consist
of
one
officer
and
20
men
each
from
the
Army,
Navy,
Air
Force
and
Delhi
Police.
Indian
Air
Force
is
the
coordinating
service
this
year.
The
Guard
of
Honour
will
be
commanded
by
Wing
Commander
Kunal
Khanna.
The
Air
Force
Contingent
in
the
Prime
Minister's
Guard
will
be
commanded
by
Squadron
Leader
Lokendra
Singh,
the
Army
contingent
by
Major
Vikas
Sangwan
and
the
Naval
contingent
by
Lt
Commander
Avinash
Kumar.
The
Delhi
Police
contingent
will
be
commanded
by
Additional
DCP
(East
Delhi)
Achin
Garg.
The GoC Delhi area will conduct the Prime Minister to the dais on the ramparts to unfurl the National Flag.
'Ratya
Salute'
After
being
unfurled,
the
Tricolour
will
receive
a
'Rashtriya
Salute'.
The
Air
Force
band,
consisting
of
20
men
will
play
the
National
Anthem
during
unfurling
of
the
National
Flag
and
presenting
of
the
'Ratya
Salute'.
The
Band
will
be
conducted
by
Master
Warrant
Officer
Raghuvir.
Who
Assists
PM
to
Unfurl
Flag?
Squadron
Leader
Sumita
Yadav
will
assist
the
Prime
Minister
in
unfurling
the
National
Flag.
It
will
be
synchronised
with
the
21
Gun
Salute
fired
by
the
valiant
gunners
of
the
elite
8711
Field
Battery
(Ceremonial).
The
ceremonial
battery
is
commanded
by
Lt
Col
Vikas
Kumar,
SM
and
the
Gun
Position
Officer
will
be
Naib
Subedar
(AIG)
Anoop
Singh.
The National Flag Guard comprising five officers and 128 men from the Air Force, Army, Navy and Delhi Police will present Rashtriya Salute at the time of unfurling of the National Flag by the Prime Minister. Wing Commander TVR Singh from the Indian Air Force will be in command of this Inter-Services Guard and Police Guard.
The Air Force Contingent in the National Flag Guard will be commanded by Squadron Leader Mihir Zokarkar, the Army contingent by Major Akash Joshi, the Naval Contingent by Lt Commander Praveen Saraswat. The Delhi Police contingent will be commanded by Additional DCP (Central Delhi) Akshat Kaushal.
Showering
of
Flower
Petals
As
soon
as
the
National
Flag
is
unfurled
by
the
Prime
Minister,
flower
petals
will
be
showered
at
the
venue
in
Amrit
Formation
by
two
MI-17
1V
Helicopters.
The
formation
is
of
129
Helicopter
Unit,
the
Nubra
Warriors,
led
by
Wing
Commander
Anand
Vinayak
Agashe
with
Wing
Commander
Nikhil
Mehrotra
in
second
helicopter.
Following
the
two
Mi-17
in
line
astern
formation
will
be
two
Dhruv
helicopters
from
111
Helicopter
Unit,
'The
Snow
Tigers'.
The
formation
is
led
by
Wing
Commander
Abhijeet
Kumar
with
Wing
Commander
KS
Vishal
in
the
second
helicopter.
After the showering of flower petals, the Prime Minister will address the Nation. At the conclusion of the speech of the Prime Minister, the cadets of National Cadet Corps (NCC) will sing the National Anthem. Seven hundred ninety-two boy and girl NCC cadets (Army, Navy and Air Force) from different schools across the country will take part in this festival of National Fervour. These cadets will be seated at 'Gyan Path' in front of the Red Fort's ramparts in a geographical formation of the Map of India. They will adorn dresses of the regions they are representing, symbolising India's cultural diversity. It is being done to carry forward the message of 'Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat'.
Ceremonial
21-gun
Salute
For
the
first
time,
a
home-grown
howitzer
gun,
Advanced
Towed
Artillery
Gun
System
(ATAGS),
developed
under
the
Government's
'Make
in
India'
initiative,
will
fire
during
the
ceremonial
21-gun
salute.
The
gun
is
completely
indigenous,
designed
and
developed
by
DRDO.
The
gun
will
stand
as
a
testament
to
India's
growing
capacity
of
developing
arms
and
ammunition
indigenously.
Lt
Colonel
Gagandeep
Singh
Sandhu
is
commanding
the
gun
unit
with
the
firing
instructor
Naib
Subedar
Gulab
Wable.
The
gun
has
been
especially
customised,
with
certain
technical
specifications
being
tweaked
for
the
ceremony.
Unsung
Heroes
Invited
In
continuation
to
the
initiative
taken
during
the
Republic
Day
2022,
the
unsung
heroes
of
the
society,
who
are
usually
overlooked,
have
been
invited
as
special
guests
for
the
Ceremony.
These
include
anganwadi
workers,
street
vendors,
mudra
scheme
borrowers
and
mortuary
workers.
As part of 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav', Ministries of Defence and Culture came together in partnership with the National gallery of Modern Art to pay a unique tribute to the bravehearts of India's struggle for freedom. In a mammoth art project, Kala Kumbh, five hundred master artists worked tirelessly to create ten scrolls, each 75 meters long, out of which eight are displayed here. The monumental scrolls continue the ancient Indian tradition of narrative art and bring to life historic events that led India to break away the shackles of colonial rule.
This year, wall hanging of prominent Freedom Fighters and from different States and Union Territories are adorning the magnificent walls of Red Fort. These hanging walls will also have different cultural, natural and religious heritage of that particular State and UT.
These prominent freedom fighters are Pattabhi Sitaramaiyya from Andhra Pradesh, Moje Riba from Arunachal Pradesh, Kushal Konwar from Assam, Vir Kunwar Singh from Bihar, Vir Narayan Singh from Chhattisgarh, Lala Har Dayal from National Capital Territory of Delhi, Pursottam Kesava Kakodkar from Goa, Bhikaji Cama from Gujarat, Rao Tula Ram from Haryana, Padam Dev from Himachal Pradesh, Saifuddin Kitchlew from UT of Jammu & Kashmir, Bhagwan Birsa Munda from Jharkhand, Karnad Sadashiva Rao from Karnataka, Accamma Cherian from Kerala, Abdul Sattar UT of Ladakh, Chandra Shekhar Azad from Madhya Pradesh, Bal Gangadhar Tilak from Maharashtra, Rani Gaidinliu from Manipur, Phan Nonglait from Meghalaya, Ropuiliani from Mizoram, Khaikhojam Kuki from Nagaland, Laxman Nayak from Odisha, Bhai Parmanand from Punjab, Sagarmal Gopa from Rajasthan, Trilochan Pokhrel from Sikkim, K Kamaraj from Tamil Nadu, Sarojini Naidu from Telangana, Sachindra Lal Singh from Tripura, Anushuya Prasad Bahuguna from Uttarakhand, Mangal Pandey from Uttar Pradesh and Chittranjan Das from West Bengal. This gesture is a fitting tribute to these towering personalities for their unparalleled contributions, sometimes unsung, for the cause of Freedom.
Another beautiful addition to the celebration is one of India's favourite pastime, the kite flying. Murals on kite flying are displayed at Meena Bazar depicting diverse colours, sizes and techniques of kites representing Unity in Diversity mantra of our Motherland.
For the first time as part of Independence Day celebrations, a special Youth Exchange Programme has been organised between August 09-17, 2022. A total of 26 officers/supervisors and 127 cadets/youths from 14 countries - US, UK, Argentina, Brazil, Fiji, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, The Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Seychelles, UAE & Uzbekistan - are already in India for the Independence Day celebrations. Apart from attending the main event at the Red Fort, the youth will be visiting places of cultural and historical importance in Delhi and Agra.