The country is all set to witness India’s military might and cultural diversity at Rajpath during the Republic Day parade 2022.
Republic Day Parade 2022 is all set to showcase India’s military might and cultural diversity at Rajpath to mark the celebration of the 75th year of Independence as part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
To mark the occasion, the Ministry of Defence has conceptualised a series of new events during the main parade and ‘Beating the Retreat’ ceremony at Vijay Chowk on January 29. It has been decided that the Republic Day celebrations will now be week-long from January 23 to January 30 every year.
The parade at Rajpath will start at 10.30 am instead of the earlier timing of 10 am to provide better visibility for the parade and flypast.
Many firsts of Republic Day 2022
Several firsts have been planned during the main parade of Republic Day 2022. A drone show by 1,000 indigenously developed drones has also been planned for ‘Beating the Retreat’ ceremony, along with projection mapping.
For a better viewing experience at the parade, 10 large LED screens – five on each side of Rajpath will be installed and screens will show the live show.
-A nationwide flagship programme of NCC ‘Shaheedon Ko Shat Shat Naman’ will be launched to honour the supreme sacrifices of the fallen heroes in defending the nation.
-Ten scrolls each of 75 metres in length and 15 ft in height, will be displayed along the Rajpath during the parade. They were prepared during the ‘Kala Kumbh’ event jointly organised by the Ministries of Defence and Culture.
-For the first time, dancers who perform during the cultural programme at the parade have been selected through a nation-wide competition ‘Vande Bharatam’, jointly organised by the Ministries of Defence and Culture.
-In another first, the Ministry of Defence, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education organised, nationwide ‘Veer Gatha’ competition to motivate school students to do projects on gallantry award winners.
Republic Day Parade 2022
Following the tradition, the National Flag will be unfurled followed by the National Anthem with a booming 21-gun salute. The parade will commence with President Ram Nath Kovind taking the salute. The Republic Day Parade ceremony will commence with Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting the National War Memorial.
The parade will be commanded by Parade Commander, Lieutenant General Vijay Kumar Mishra, Ati Vishisth Seva Medal, a second-generation Army officer. Major General Alok Kacker, Chief of Staff, Delhi Area will be the Parade Second-in-Command.
Indian Army contingents
-A total of six marching contingents of the Indian Army will be present during the parade, including the Rajput Regiment, the Assam Regiment, the Jammu & Kashmir Light Regiment, the Sikh Light Regiment, the Army Ordnance Corps and the Parachute Regiment.
-The theme of the marching contingents of the Indian Army is the evolution of the uniform and personnel weapons of the Indian Army over the last 75 years.
-The Indian Army will be represented by a Mounted Column of 61 Cavalry, 14 Mechanised Columns, six marching contingents and a fly past by Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) of Army Aviation.
-One Tank PT-76 & Centurion (On Tank Transporters), two MBT Arjun MK-I, APC TOPAS & BMP-I (On Tank Transporter),tTwo BMP-II, one 75/24 Towed Gun (On Vehicle), two Dhanush Gun System, one PMS Bridge, two Sarvatra Bridge System, one HT-16 (On Vehicle), two Tarang Shakti Electronic Warfare System, one Tiger Cat Missile and two Akash Missile System will be the main attraction in the mechanised columns.
Indian Navy Contingent
-The Indian Navy contingent will comprise 96 young sailors & four officers led by Lt. Cdr Aanchal Sharma as Contingent Commander.
-It will be followed by the Naval Tableau which is designed with the aim to showcase the multi-dimensional capabilities of the Indian Navy and highlight the key inductions under ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
-The Indian Air Force contingent comprises 96 airmen and four officers and will be led by Squadron Leader Prashant Swamyanathan. The Air Force tableau is titled ‘Indian Air Force, Transforming for the Future’.
DRDO Tableaux and ICG contingent
-The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will display two tableaux, signifying the defence technological advancements of the country. The tableaux are titled ‘Suite of Indigenously Developed Sensors, Weapons and Electronic Warfare Systems for LCA Tejas’ and ‘Air Independent Propulsion System’ developed for the submarines of the Indian Navy.
-The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) contingent will be led by Deputy Commandant H T Manjunath. ‘Ready, Relevant and Responsive’, the ICG, in January 2021, undertook a major fire-fighting operation ‘Sagar Aaraksha-II’ in foreign waters, to douse a major fire onboard MV X-press Pearl off Sri Lanka.
-The National Cadet Corps (NCC) Boys Marching contingent, comprising of 100 Senior Division cadets, will be led by Senior Under Officer Rupendra Singh Chauhan of the Punjab Directorate.
-The marching contingents of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), 15 times winner of best marching contingent, will also march past the saluting dais.
Fly Past
The grand finale and the most keenly awaited segment of the parade, the Fly Past will, for the first time, witness 75 aircraft or helicopters of the Indian Air Forces (IAF) displaying a number of formations, as part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’. For the first time, IAF has coordinated with Doordarshan to show cockpit videos during the fly past.
Tableaux of 12 States/Union Territories
It will be followed by tableaux of 12 States/Union Territories and nine Ministries/Departments, which have been prepared on various themes under ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’. The list of tableaux of states/UTs is as follows:
| State/UT | Theme |
| Arunachal Pradesh | Anglo-Abor (Adi) Wars |
| Haryana | Haryana: No 1 in Sports |
| Chhattisgarh | Godhan Nyay Yojana: A new path to prosperity |
| Goa | Symbols of Goan heritage |
| Gujarat | Tribal Revolutionaries of Gujarat |
| Jammu & Kashmir | Changing face of Jammu & Kashmir |
| Karnataka | Karnataka: The cradle of traditional handicrafts |
| Maharashtra | Biodiversity and State Bio-symbols of Maharashtra |
| Meghalaya | Meghalaya’s 50 years of Statehood and its tribute to Women-led cooperative societies and SHGs |
| Punjab | Punjab’s contribution in freedom struggle |
| Uttar Pradesh | ODOP and Kashi Vishwanath Dham |
| Uttarakhand | Pragati Ki Aur Badhta Uttarakhand |
Tableaux of Ministries or Departments
| Ministry/Department | Theme |
| Ministry of Education & Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship | National Education Policy |
| Ministry of Civil Aviation | UDAN – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik |
| Ministry of Communication/Department of Posts | India Post: 75 years @ Resolve – Women Empowerment |
| Ministry of Home Affairs (CRPF) | CRPF: Saga of Valour and Sacrifice |
| Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (CPWD) | Subhash @125 |
| Ministry of Textiles | Shuttling to the Future |
| Ministry of Law & Justice, Department of Justice | Ek Mutthi Aasmaa: Lok Adalat, Inclusive Legal system |
| Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation | Jal Jeevan Mission: Changing Lives |
| Ministry of Culture | 150 years of Shri Aurobindo |
