Unity in Diversity: Republic Day's Highlights

India celebrated its 73rd Republic Day as a part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav commemorating 75 years of independence. The Republic Day parade showcased India's military might, cultural diversity, and many unique initiatives to celebrate the 75th year of independence. 

The celebration was commenced on January 23 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On Netaji's 125th birth anniversary, PM unveiled the hologram statue of the freedom fighter at India Gate in Delhi on Sunday.

The parade started at 10:30 am amid foggy weather. According to the tradition, the national flag was unfurled, followed by the National Anthem with a booming 21-gun salute, presented by the Ceremonial Battery of 871 Field Regiment. As many as 75 aircraft of the Indian Air Force performed a flypast showcasing India's military prowess at the event. The defence ministry presented videos from the cockpit as the helicopters and aircraft flew over Rajpath for the first time. The Centre also installed ten large LED screens, five on each side of Rajpath, for spectators at the location. 

On the eve of Republic Day celebrations, President Ram Nath Kovind approved awards of 384 gallantry and other defence decorations to armed forces personnel and others. The centre also announced the Padma awards on Tuesday. The President approved the conferment of 128 Padma awards this year, including two duo cases, in which the award is counted as one. The list comprises four Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan, and 107 Padma Shri awards. This year's list of guests was shortened to ensure necessary Covid protocols.

Cultural diversity and Dark horse steals the show at the Republic Day parade

As India is an independent nation, the culture played a vital role in the Republic Day parade. As the nodal ministry for Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, it organized Vande Bharatam in collaboration with the MoD as a countrywide dance competition, the winners of which got to perform at Rajpath as part of the main parade. The parade held under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence every year also had the active participation of the Ministry of Culture this time. 

Out of 3,870, 480 dancers were selected from the all-India dance competition. The Vande Bharatam Nritya Utsav saw four categories: classical, folk, tribal, and fusion/contemporary. The 12-minute musical piece performance was composed by Grammy Award-winning musician Ricky Kej, associated with Oscar contender tabla player Bickram Ghosh.

As Republic Day celebrations close to the end at Delhi's Rajpath, one of the President's Bodyguards (PBG) was the Centre of attention. The guard was an honored dark-bay colored horse named Virat, who retired soon after the parade.

President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh offer farewell to the horse, who has attended 13 Republic Day parades, and has been at the top of the PBG team, considered the most senior regiment of the Indian Army.

Chhattisgarh allows government employees to work five days a week

On 73rd Republic Day, Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel took to Twitter to announce major policy decisions, including a five-day working week for government employees. "In a bid to increase efficiency and productivity of government employees, Chhattisgarh government is implementing five-day working week. In a tweet, the state government's contribution in a pension scheme will also be increased from 10 percent to 14 percent," said Baghel.

The state government will also introduce legislation that will provide legitimacy to small Commercial activities undertaken in Residential Areas. This shall benefit thousands of small business people who otherwise live in a cloud of uncertainty. All irregular constructions on private land shall be regularised subject to public safety norms. This is considered a game-changer because many households have inadvertently violated the otherwise stringent provisions of the building code.

The chief minister also announced similar provisions for planning and fringe areas in line with the one-second building permission scheme running successfully in municipal corporations. To generate employment and ensure that the transport department is accessible to the public, the CM announced that a large number of transport facilitation centers would be opened across the state. In addition to this, he announced that the rules for issuing learning driver's licenses would be simplified.

As a vital step for women's safety, the chief minister announced that women's safety cells would be established in all districts. Chhattisgarh being a densely forested state, the livelihood of a majority of the tribal population is dependent on forests. The chief minister today announced rules for these forest dwellers would be simplified.

A paradigm shift in the state's industrial policy was announced wherein 10 percent of the plots in industrial parks shall be reserved for citizens belonging to the OBC category. The chief minister announced that the premium for the land would also be subsidized.

As a major announcement for the farmers, the CM announced that from FY 2022-23, pulses should also be procured at MSP. Also, a sum of Rupees Twenty thousand each shall be deposited in the bank accounts of registered laborers for the first two girl children. Bhupesh Baghel unfurled the national flag at Lalbagh Maidan of Bastar district on the occasion of Republic Day.

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