India's 73rd R-Day Parade Stars Many Firsts

Stunning flypast main highlight amid scaled-down celebrations due to covid scare

NEW DELHI: India displayed its military might and vibrant cultural heritage on Rajpath on Wednesday with the grandest flypast with 75 aircraftto mark the ‘Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav’ celebrations being the highlight of the 73rd Republic Day Parade, which was drastically scaled-down in view of the Covid pandemic.

A flypast by 75 aircraft and helicopters was the highlight of this year’s parade. Strict Covid protocol was in place as only 5,000 people attended the celebrations. Only fully vaccinated adults and children above 15 who had received the first shot were allowed. This year, there will be no At Home function at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

To mark the Republic Day event this year, which also coincides with the 75th year of Independence, the government decided to make it a week-long event starting from January 23. From this year onwards, the celebrations will begin on January 23, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and culminate on January 30, which is observed as Martyrs’ Day.

Among other things, a show by 1,000 indigenously developed drones has been planned for the Beating Retreat ceremony to be held on January 29, along with projection mapping that was shown for the first time at the Republic Day parade.

Showcased at the parade were the Centurion tank, PT-76 tank, 75/24 Pack howitzer and OT-62 TOPAZ armoured personnel carrier that played a major role in the defeat of Pakistan in the 1971 war.