R-Day Parade to celebrate Vande Mataram's 150 years, enclosures named after Indian rivers
New Delhi (PTI): The sesquicentenary of 'Vande Mataram' will be the dominant theme of this year's Republic Day Parade, with enclosure backdrops along the Kartavya Path displaying old paintings illustrating the opening stanzas of the National Song and floral artworks at the main stage paying homage to its composer Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.
In a departure from traditional practice, 'VVIP' and other labels, used earlier for enclosures at the parade venue, will not be used. Instead, all enclosures have been named after Indian rivers, senior officials of the defence ministry said on Friday.
These include Beas, Brahmaputra, Chambal, Chenab, Gandak, Ganga, Ghagra, Godavari, Sindhu, Jhelum, Kaveri, Kosi, Krishna, Mahanadi, Narmada, Pennar, Periyar, Ravi, Sone, Sutlej, Teesta, Vaigai, and Yamuna, they said.
Similarly, for the Beating Retreat Ceremony on January 29, enclosures will be named on Indian instruments -- bansuri, damaru, ektara, esraj, mridangam, nagada, pakhawaj, santoor, sarangi, sarinda, sarod, shehnai, sitar, surbahar, tabla and veena.
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, will be the chief guests at the parade.
Defence Secretary R K Singh, in a press briefing at the South Block, shared the broader contours of the 77th Republic Day celebrations that will see many firsts this time.
The theme this year is 150 years of 'Vande Mataram' and the parade will celebrate it. The invitation cards will carry the logo of its sesquicentenary and a bunch of balloons carrying a banner themed on 'Vande Mataram' will be released in the air at the end of the parade.
ALSO READ: Dense fog blankets national capital; minimum temperature 4.4 deg C
Also, band performances by the military and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) are being held from January 19-26 on the theme of 'Vande Mataram' at around 235 locations in over 120 cities, he said.
These will include bands by the Army, the Navy, the Indian Air Force, and the Indian Coast Guard.
The performance venues will also include the ancestral home and birthplace of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee at Kanthalpara, Naihati, in North 24 Parganas District of West Bengal, presently known as 'Bankim Bhawan Gaveshana Kendra' (also referred to as Rishi Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's Residence and Museum or Bankim Sangrahashala), the ministry said.
Thirty tableaux -- 17 from various states and Union Territories, and 13 from ministries and services -- will roll down the Kartavya Path, it said.
Tableaux will be showcased by Assam (theme - Ashirakandi: The craft village), Gujarat (theme - Swatantrata ka Mantra: Vande Mataram), Jammu and Kashmir (theme - handicrafts and folk dances of J-K), West Bengal (theme -- Bengal in India's freedom movement), Uttar Pradesh (culture of Bundelkhand), among other states and UTs.
Besides Air Headquarters (theme - Veteran Tableau: Nation Building through War), Naval Headquarters (theme - Samudra Se Samridhi) and Department of Military Affairs (a tri-Services tableau on Operation Sindoor, Victory through Jointness), Ministry of Culture (theme - Vande Mataram: The Soul-Cry of a Nation), will also showcase a tableau each, according to the ministry.
Another senior official said enclosure backdrops on the Kartavya Path in Delhi will bear prints of artist Tejendra Kumar Mitra's paintings that illustrate the opening lines of 'Vande Mataram'.
According to the culture ministry, these paintings were published in 1923.
Videos on Vande Mataram will be played on screen at Kartavya Path.
As in previous years, various competitions, contests, and quizzes were conducted on the 'MyGov' and 'MyBharat' portals on the theme of 'Vande Mataram' and 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', which received a total participation of 1,61,224, the ministry said in a statement later.
In addition to cash prizes for the top 30 winners, the top 200 winners have been invited to witness the parade, the officials said.
Also, nearly 2,500 cultural artistes will perform on Kartavya Path in this year's parade, the ministry said.
Around 10,000 people from all walks of society have been invited to witness the event at Kartavya Path as 'special guests' this year.
People with exemplary work in connection with income and employment generation, technology, innovation, start-ups, self-help groups, and best performers under key government initiatives have been identified with the help of the departments concerned and invited to witness the ceremony.
These include winners of the World Athletic Para Championship, farmers practising natural farming, transgender and beggar rehabilitated under the PM-SMILE scheme, best performing scientists or technical persons involved in recent ISRO missions like Gaganyaan and Chandrayaan, and participants of 'Mann ki Baat', the ministry said.
"In order to ensure maximum Janbhagidari, the number of seats for the public has been increased. Accordingly, the number of tickets for the public has been increased, which were available for online booking through 'Aamantran' portal as well as 'Aamantran App' and through offline counters at various locations, including two major DMRC stations, from January 5-14," it said.
A post-event 'Swachhata' campaign in coordination with MyBharat volunteers and NCC cadets covering a whole stretch of Kartavya Path has been planned and will be operated accordingly, it added.
To facilitate citizens to have ease in accessing information and getting access to witness the various events on Republic Day celebrations like booking tickets, getting the location of the seating and parking arrangements, a comprehensive mobile app and a portal -- 'Rashtraparv Portal' has been developed and will serve as a focus point for all the details relating to the two events.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Rajnath Singh chairs IGoM meet, urges constant vigil over West Asia crisis
New Delhi (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday emphasised the need for round-the-clock monitoring of the West Asia conflict and called for a calibrated response to deal with any eventuality to ensure that national interests remain protected.
Singh made the comments while chairing a high-level meeting of the Informal Group of Ministers (IGoM) set-up to monitor the situation in West Asia.
The meeting was attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Power Minister Manohar Lal, Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister J P Nadda, Consumer Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi and Minister of Railways, Information and Broadcasting, Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw.
In view of the "uncertain situation", the defence minister underlined the importance of round-the-clock monitoring of the situation and the need to respond in a calibrated manner to deal with any eventuality, an official readout said.
He stressed on the need to leave no stone unturned to ensure that the people of the country face the minimum effect of the conflict, it said.
It was the second meeting of the IGoM after it was set up last month.
The IGoM was apprised of the measures being taken by the government in the wake of the ongoing West Asia conflict, Singh said on social media.
"We also deliberated upon the next steps to be taken by the government to mitigate any adverse impact arising due to the ongoing conflict," he said.
The defence ministry said in the readout said, "In the meeting, the seven empowered groups of secretaries briefed the IGoM on the steps being taken to tackle the situation."
"The IGoM was apprised about measures undertaken by the Ministry of Finance to address concerns arising due to global trade disruptions and provide relief and support to the industry, especially manufacturing, and bolster investor confidence," it said.
It listed measures including notification issued on Wednesday on full customs duty exemption on 40 critical petrochemical products till June 30.
The ministry also mentioned announcement of a special one-time relief measure for eligible units in SEZs to sell manufactured goods in Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) at concessional customs duty rates to be effective from April 1 to March 31.
It also noted another notification issued by the Department of Revenue clarifying that the provisions of GAAR (General Anti Avoidance Rules) will not be invoked in respect of investments made prior to April 1, 2017.
"These measures will reduce cost pressures on downstream sectors including textiles, packaging and pharmaceuticals, facilitate supply stability in the country and provide requisite clarity for investors contemplating investments in India," the readout said.
Defence Minister Singh appreciated the government's decision to impose a 25 per cent cap on the monthly increase in aviation turbine fuel prices for domestic operations, with effect from April 1.
This step will help protect the people from sudden increase in fares, he said.
The government has accorded highest priority to domestic LPG supply, with refinery production enhanced to fully meet consumption requirements, according to the readout.
"The IGoM was informed that there have been no reports of dry-out at LPG distributorships, and delivery of domestic LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) cylinders continues as per the normal schedule. The temporary supply concerns arose due to instances of hoarding and black marketing, which triggered panic buying in certain areas," it said.
The ministers were informed that strict enforcement action is being undertaken, with raids being carried out across multiple states and Union territories to curb hoarding and black marketing of LPG, the ministry said in the readout.
Action has also been taken against some LPG distributors who engaged in malpractices, it said.
"To support migrant labour and low-consumption households, the government is ensuring adequate availability of 5 kg free trade LPG cylinders, and since March 23, over 4.3 lakh such cylinders have been sold. Special focus is being given to states where demand is higher," it said.
The IGoM was apprised that industrial requirements dependent on commercial LPG are being met, with over 80 per cent of pre-crisis supply levels being maintained to ensure continuity of operations.
"Special meetings have been held with ministries and stakeholders of different industries to understand their demand and meet their needs. Oil PSUs are ensuring continued supply of Auto LPG across the country," the readout noted.
"However, some supply constraints are being faced by private operators due to their procurement challenges, which is why lines are being observed at PSU auto LPG pumps. Wherever the autos are dual feed and can use petrol, they are being encouraged to use petrol," it said.
