How the Republic Day Parade 2022 will be India's first in many ways

The Republic Day Parade this year will be different in a number of ways. The parade will be marked by the confluence of  India's heritage, the growing defence might, and 'Aatmanirbharta'.

Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar briefed on the modifications that will be significant during Republic Day celebrations this year. As announced earlier too, the celebration will begin on January 23 instead of January 24 with special events remembering
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. The week-long celebration of Republic Day would continue till January 30, Martyr's Day.

How Republic Day 2022 will be the first in many ways

This year, for the first time, the start time of the parade has been changed to10.30 am instead of 10.00 a.m. in order to ensure visibility during the flypast event as Delhi has been witnessing foggy skies for the last few days. Ministry of Defence has also requested the governors to have a diverse set of invitees in their respective states like Divyangs, young achievers, COVID warriors, and eco-warriors.

In a major change in the format of the cultural events in the parade, 480 dancers will be presenting diverse dance forms of the country. These dancers have been chosen through competition among over 3800 participants in various stages to make the event spectacular. These performances were earlier done by children of different schools.

The 10 painting scrolls 75 ft long 10 ft high with the pictorial tributes to the unsung heroes of the nation and rich cultural heritage of the nation, will be placed instead of view cutters in the stands during the Republic Day parade. Before the commencement of the parade, there will be a band display by the CAPFs to build up the mood on the grand national occasion.

To enhance the visual reach of the event, 10 large LED screens will be placed along the Rajpath where the event will be shown live while before the event starts, glimpses of previous parades will be shown. The grandeur of the air power of all the three forces will be evident in the biggest Fly Past over Rajpath.For the first time as many as  75 Aircraft will participate in the flypast to celebrate the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. The unseen footage from the cockpit of aircraft will also be played on the screens at Rajpath.

Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said, " This year Invitation card will have the seed of medicinal plants like ashwagandha, aloe vera to inculcate a sense of nature conservation among people who will be appealed to plant these card seeds instead of throwing them."

COVID norms in place for R-Day parade

On the COVID control front too, there are several measures introduced in the Republic Day parade this year. Keeping the COVID protocols for the parade, the number of people has been curtailed from 25000 last to 5000-8000. For a larger and virus preventive participation, a Hybrid format is encouraged this year. As a mark of gratitude to the underprivileged contributors of the society, some seats will be earmarked for safai workers, auto-rickshaw drivers, and vegetable vendors and they will be specially invited to witness the parade.

Beating the Retreat will see the unprecedented 'Drone show' with 1000 drones developed by the Indian startup of IIT Delhi. India will become the fourth country in the world after Russia, US, and China to hold a show of 1000 drones. The 21 tableaus of states/union territories and various ministries will be the visual treat during the Republic Day Parade. As per the officials of the Ministry of Defence the Central Vista as far as Republic day is concerned is complete.