Republic Day 2018 highlights | Fusion - WeRIndia

India celebrated the 69^th Republic Day yesterday. People gathered with passion and patriotism and celebrated the occasion with excitement.

There are many unique highlights of the Republic Day this year.

Here is a list of the highlights:

This was President Ram Nath Kovind’s first Republic Day parade as supreme commander.

Leaders from 10 ASEAN counties graced the Republic Day celebrations for the first time.

The All-India Radio float led the parade for the first time. It features ‘Mann Ki Baat’ by PM Modi.

Seema Bhavani, BSF’s all-woman daredevils squad participated in the parade for the first time. Stunts have been performed on 350cc Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycles by the 113-member squad which includes women in the age group of 25 to 30 years. It is one of the most admired highlights of the parade.

The main stage is surrounded by a bullet-proof glass which is 100-feet wide this year. It is three times bigger than that of 2017.

More than 700 students from across the guest countries participated in the celebrations.

Attack helicopter Rudra which was developed indigenously participated in the Republic Day celebrations for the first time ever.

A march past had been performed at the ceremony by personnel from the Rajputana Rifles carrying the ASEAN flag. The flags of 10 ASEAN nations were also carried by them in the parade.

Twenty-three tableaux were presented in the parade. Out of them, 14 are from states and union territories and the remaining are from ministries followed by a special float that showcased the association of the country with ASEAN countries.

15 children who won the National Bravery Award also participated in the parade. A total of 18 awards were given, three of which were posthumous.

An Income Tax Department tableau was also the first to be in the parade.

Image credit: Photo by Mitul Gajera on Unsplash (Free for commercial use)

Image Reference: https://unsplash.com/photos/R8Qs3QRuKoM