As part of the 76^th Republic Day Celebrations (RDC), Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Sanjay Seth gave away prizes to the winners of the National School Band Competition in New Delhi on January 25, 2025. The jury appointed by the Ministry of Defence, which included members from each wing of the Armed Forces, selected the winners upon the culmination of the Grand Finale of the Competition which was held on January 24 & 25, 2025. The winners are:

• Pipe Band Girls:

• 1^st Prize - PM Shri Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, Patamda, East Singhbum, Jharkhand (Eastern Zone)
• 2^nd Prize - Bhonsala Military School Girls, Nasik, Maharashtra (Western Zone)
• 3^rd Prize - Shri Thakurdwara Balika Vidyalaya, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh (Northern Zone)
• Consolation Prize - Monte CBSE School, Kurnool, Pandipadu Village, Kallur Mandal Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh (Southern Zone)
• Pipe Band Boys:
• 1^st Prize - City Montessori School, Kanpur Road Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (Northern Zone)
• 2^nd Prize - North Sikkim Academy, Nangan, Sikkim (Eastern Zone)
• 3^rd Prize - Rajarambapu Patil Military School & Sports Academy Islampur, Sangli, Maharashtra (Western Zone)
• Consolation Prize - PM SHRI Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 2 Belagavi Cantt. Karnataka (Southern Zone)
• Brass Band Girls:
• 1^st Prize - Government Sr. Sec. School West Point, Gangtok, Sikkim (Eastern Zone)
• 2^nd Prize - St. Joseph's Convent Sr. Sec. School, Idgah hills, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (Western Zone)
• 3^rd Prize - St Joseph's Anglo Indian Girl's Higher Secondary School, Kozhikode, Kerala (Southern Zone)
• Consolation Prize - Gayatri Vidyapeeth, Shantikunj, Haridwar, Uttrakhand (Northern Zone)
• Brass Band Boys:
• 1^st Prize - Prince Lotus Valley Academy, Sikar, Rajasthan (Western Zone)
• 2^nd Prize - St. Xavier’s Higher Secondary School, Pathaliaghat, Sepahijala, Tripura (Eastern Zone)
• 3^rd Prize - Pinegrove School, Subathu, District-Solan, Himachal Pradesh (Northern Zone)
• Consolation Prize - St. Xavier's English Medium School, Pathalgaon, Chhattisgarh (Southern Zone)

The top three teams in each category were given a cash prize (1^st - Rs 21,000/-, 2^nd - Rs 16,000/- & 3^rd - Rs 11,000/-), a trophy and a certificate. A consolation cash prize of Rs 3,000/- each was given to the remaining team in each category.

The winner of Pipe Band Girls - PM Shri Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, Patamda, East Singhbum, Jharkhand (Eastern Zone) along with the military band team - will be a star attraction during the RD Parade at Kartavya Path on January 26, 2025 as they will be performing at the rostrum.

Two other bands - PM SHRI Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 2 Belagavi Cantt. Karnataka (Southern Zone) and Government Sr. Sec. School West Point, Gangtok, Sikkim (Eastern Zone) - will perform at Vijay Chowk during the Beating Retreat Ceremony on January 29, 2025.

In his address, Raksha Rajya Mantri described the winners as well as the participants of the competition as the brand ambassadors of Viksit Bharat, a vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He urged the youth to keep the nation first and strive to make India a developed nation by 2047.

From RDC 2023 onwards, the National School Band Competition is being jointly conducted by Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Education. A School Band evokes a feeling of oneness, belonging and pride in school children towards their school and country.

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SR/KB/SS