Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will lead the Nation in celebrating the 77^th Independence Day from the iconic Red Fort in Delhi on August 15, 2023. He will unfurl the National Flag and deliver the customary address to the nation from the ramparts of the historic monument. This year’s Independence Day will culminate the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations, which were launched by the Prime Minister from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on March 12, 2021 and will, once again, usher the country into ‘Amrit Kaal’ with renewed vigour to realise Shri Narendra Modi’s dream of making India a developed country by 2047. A number of new initiatives have been taken to celebrate the 77^th Independence Day. A large number of guests have been invited as compared to last year.

Special Guests

Around 1,800 people from different vocations, with their spouse, have been invited from across the country to be a part of the celebrations at Red Fort as Special Guests. The initiative has been taken in line with the Government’s vision of ‘Jan Bhagidari’.

These Special Guests include over 400 Sarpanches of more than 660 vibrant villages; 250 from Farmer Producer Organisations scheme; 50 participants each of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme & Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana; 50 Shram Yogis (construction workers) of the Central Vista Project, including the New Parliament Building; 50 each Khadi workers, those involved in construction of border roads, making of Amrit Sarovar& Har Ghar Jal Yojana as well as 50 each primary school teachers, nurses and fishermen.Some of these Special Guests are scheduled to visit the National War Memorial and call on Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt as part of their stay in Delhi.

Seventy five (75) couples from each State/Union Territory, in their traditional attire, have also been invited to witness the ceremony at Red Fort.

Selfie Points

          Selfie points dedicated to different schemes & initiatives of the government have been installed at 12 locations, including National War Memorial, India Gate, Vijay Chowk, New Delhi Railway Station, Pragati Maidan, Raj Ghat, Jama Masjid Metro Station, Rajiv Chowk Metro Station, Delhi Gate Metro Station, ITO Metro Gate, Naubat Khana and Sheesh Ganj Gurudwara.

The schemes/initiatives include Global Hope: Vaccine & Yoga; Ujjwala Yojana; Space Power; Digital India; Skill India; Start-up India; Swachh Bharat; Sashakt Bharat, Naya Bharat; Powering India; Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission.

As part of the celebrations, an online selfie contest will be conducted by Ministry of Defence on MyGov portal from August 15-20. People are encouraged to take selfies at one or more of the 12 installations and upload them on MyGov platform to take part in the contest. Twelve winners, one from each installation, will be selected on the basis of the online selfie contest. The winners would be given prize money of Rs 10,000 each.

E-Invitations

          All official invites have been sent online through aamantran portal (www.aamantran.mod.gov.in). 17,000 e-invitation cards have been issued through the portal.

The ceremony

Upon his arrival at the Red Fort, the Prime Minister will be received by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh, Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt and Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane. The Defence Secretary will introduce the General Officer Commanding (GoC), Delhi Area, Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth to the Prime Minister. The GoC Delhi Area will then conduct Shri 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.

The Guard of Honour contingent for the Prime Minister will consist of one officer & 25 personnel each from the Army, Air Force &Delhi Police and one officer & 24 personnel from Navy. The Indian Army is the coordinating service this year. The Guard of Honour will be commanded by Major Vikas Sangwan. The Army Contingent in the Prime Minister’s Guard will be commanded by Major Indrajeet Sachin, the Navalcontingent by Lieutenant Commander MV Rahul Raman and the Air Force contingent by Squadron Leader Akash Ganghas. The Delhi Police contingent will be commanded by Additional DCP Sandhya Swami.

After inspecting the Guard of Honour, the Prime Minister will proceed to the ramparts of the Red Fort where he will be greeted by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh, Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar 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.

After being unfurled, the Tricolour will receive a ‘Rashtriya Salute’. The Army band, consisting of one JCO and 20 Other Ranks, will play the National Anthem during the unfurling of the National Flag and presenting of the ‘Rashtriya Salute’. The Band will be conducted by Naib Subedar Jatinder Singh.

Major Nikita Nair and Major Jasmine Kaur 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 elite 8711 Field Battery (Ceremonial). The ceremonial battery will be commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Vikas Kumar and the Gun Position Officer will be Naib Subedar (AIG) Anoop Singh.

The National Flag Guard comprising five officers and 128 Other Ranks from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Delhi Police will present Rashtriya Salute at the time of unfurling of the National Flag by the Prime Minister. Major Abhinav Detha from the Army 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 Mukesh Kumar Singh, the Naval contingent by Lieutenant Commander Harpreet Mann and the Air Force Contingent by Squadron Leader Shrey Chawdhary. The Delhi Police contingent will be commanded by Additional DCP Shashank Jaiswal.

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 Mark-III Dhruv of the Indian Air Force in the Line Astern Formation. The captains of the helicopter will be Wing Commander Amber Agarwal and Squadron Leader Himanshu Sharma.

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. One thousand one hundred (1,100) 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. Bleachers have been installed at the Gyanpath, on which the cadets would be seated in official white dress.

In addition, NCC cadets in uniform will be seated at the Gyan Path as part of the celebrations.Another highlight would be the G-20 logo, which will be part of the floral decorations at the Red Fort.

ABB/Savvy