Republic Day 2023: The main theme of the Republic Day parade in Delhi was ‘Nari Shakti’ or ‘women empowerment’.
New Delhi: India celebrated its 74th Republic Day with great fervour. On this day, 74 years back, India officially adopted its Constitution following its Independence from British rule. Here are some of the highlights of the 74th Republic Day celebrations:
- President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation in celebrating the 74th Republic Day
- It was the first Republic Day celebrations at the revamped Central Vista avenue after the renaming of Rajpath to Kartavya Path last year
- ‘Nari Shakti’ was largely the theme of the celebrations
- Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was the chief guest at the ceremonial event
- A combined band and marching contingent of the Egyptian Armed Forces also took part in the parade
- Col Mahmoud Mohamed Abdelfattah Elkharasawy led the Egyptian contingent which included 144 soldiers
- PM Modi wore a multi-coloured headgear on the occasion
- Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Chief Justice of India Justice D Y Chandrachud, and several Union ministers such as Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, G Kishan Reddy, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Kiren Rijiju, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Smriti Irani, Dharmendra Pradhan, Anurag Thakur, Arjun Munda, Meenakshi Lekhi and Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena attended the event
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt, Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari, Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar and Army chief Gen Manoj Pande also attended the celebrations
- Several foreign diplomats were also present on the occasion
- Three Param Vir Chakra awardees and three Ashok Chkara awardees also took part in the parade
- The ceremonial 21-gun salute this year was given with 105-mm Indian field guns which replaced the vintage 25-pounder guns
- A total of 23 tableaux – 17 from states and union territories and six from various ministries and departments — rolled down the Kartavya Path
- ‘Nari Shakti’ was the theme for the majority of the floats
- Spectators could not fully enjoy the flypast due to a layer of fog
- The celebrations culminated with aerial manoeuvres by aircraft fleet in different formations
- A group of ‘Shramyogis’ involved in the construction of Central Vista, Kartavya Path, New Parliament Building; milk and vegetable vendors, and street vendors etc, were especially invited
- The tableau of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research showcased a rangoli of millets, celebrating the International Year of Millets declared by the United Nations
- A “veterans’ tableau” with the theme — “Towards India’s Amrit Kaal with a Resolve of Veterans’ Commitment” was also part of the celebrations
- Modhera, India’s first village to be powered by solar all day, was the showpiece of Gujarat’s tableau
