Independence Day 2023: PM Modi To Deliver 10th Consecutive Address, 1,800 People Invited As 'Special Guests'

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the nation in celebrating the 77th Independence Day from the iconic Red Fort in Delhi on Tuesday. A number of new initiatives will be witnessed during this year's Independence Day celebrations.

This year's Independence Day will also culminate the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' celebrations, which began from the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, Gujarat in March 2021. 

All about Independence Day ceremony this year

Upon his arrival at the Red Fort, Prime Minister Modi will be received by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, following which he will inspect the Guard of Honour. The Guard of Honour contingent for Modi will consist of one officer and 25 personnel each from the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Delhi Police, and one officer and 24 personnel from the Indian Navy. 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 Naval contingent 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.

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After inspecting the Guard of Honour, Modi will proceed to the ramparts of the Red Fort where he will be greeted by Rajnath Singh, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari. 

Major Nikita Nair and Major Jasmine Kaur will then assist the prime minister in unfurling the national flag. 

The Army band, consisting of one JCO and 20 other ranks, will play the national anthem during the unfurling of 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 glag by Prime Minister Modi. Major Abhinav Detha from the Army will be in command of this Inter-Services Guard and Police Guard.

As soon as the national flag is unfurled, 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, Modi will deliver his 10th consecutive Independence Day address, which will also be his last before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. 

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At the conclusion of the speech of the prime minister, the cadets of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) will sing the national anthem.

Independence Day: 1,800 people invited as 'special guests'

Around 1,800 people from different vocations, with their spouses, have been invited from across India to be a part of the Independence Day celebrations at Red Fort as special guests. The initiative has been taken in line with the Modi 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 and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, 50 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 and Har Ghar Jal Yojana and 50 each primary school teachers, nurses and fishermen.

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75 couples from each state and Union Territory, in their traditional attire, have also been invited to witness the grand ceremony at Red Fort. Some of these special guests will also visit the National War Memorial during their stay in the national capital.

77th Independence Day: Selfie points installed at 12 locations

Selfie points dedicated to different schemes and initiatives of the Modi government have been installed at 12 locations, including the 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 and 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.

77th Independence Day 2023: Selfie contest 

As part of the 77th Independence Day celebrations, an online selfie contest is also being conducted by the Ministry of Defence from August 15-20. People need to take selfies at one or more of the 12 installations and upload them on the 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 will be given prize money of Rs 10,000 each.