I-Day 2023: Two Women Officers To Assist PM Unfurl Flag At Red Fort

On Sunday, the Ministry of Defence announced in a press release that two women army officers would help Prime Minister Narendra Modi in unfurling the national flag at this year’s  Independence Day celebrations at Red Fort on August 15.

Major Nikita Nair and Major Jasmine Kaur- two women officers in the Indian army- have been awarded the honour of assisting PM Modi with unfurling the national flag at this year’s Independence Day celebrations at Red Fort on August 15. The celebration itself is expected to have an audience of approximately 25,000 people, said the Ministry of Defence on Sunday. 

The unfurling of the National Flag

The unfurling of the national flag by PM Modi, assisted by Majors Nair and Kaur - two women army officers - will be accompanied by a 21-gun salute by the gunners of the elite 8711 Field Battery (Ceremonial), commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Vikas Kumar. After the tricolour is unfurled, petals will be showered on the venue by two indigenously built Advanced Light Helicopters Mark-III Dhruv of the Indian Air Force I the Line Astern Formation, after which the Prime Minister will address the nation. At the end of the Prime Minister's speech, 1,100 cadets of the National Cadet Corps (NCC), from all over the country, will sing the National Anthem.

New Initiatives

Many new initiatives have been undertaken by the government to celebrate the 76th Independence Day. Over 1,800 people from different vocations, along with their families, have been invited from across the nation to be part of the Red Fort celebrations as special guests. According to the press release from the Ministry of Defence, “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 Shram Yogis (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& Har Ghar Jal Yojana as well as 50 each primary school teachers, nurses and fishermen.” “Some of these Special Guests are scheduled to visit the National War Memorial and call on Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt as part of their stay in Delhi,” the statement read. 

The Independence Day 2023 celebrations mark 76 years of India's Independence and are the culmination of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations, launched by PM Modi in 2021.

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