The upcoming Republic Day Parade will center around the sesquicentenary of 'Vande Mataram,' featuring themed decorations, performances, and special guests.
A joint operation by anti-narcotics agencies led to the seizure of about 700 kg of drugs and the arrest of eight Iranian nationals from Indian territorial waters off the Gujarat coast around Porbandar on Friday.
India will showcase its military prowess and rich cultural heritage on Kartavya Path in New Delhi on January 26 to mark the 76th Republic Day. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will be the chief guest at the event, which will also see the participation of a marching contingent and a band contingent from Indonesia. The theme of the parade is 'Swarnim Bharat: Virasat aur Vikas', focusing on the platinum jubilee of the enactment of the Constitution. The parade will feature a number of cutting-edge defense platforms, including BrahMos, Pinaka and Akash, as well as the Army's Battle Surveillance System 'Sanjay' and DRDO's surface-to-surface tactical missile 'Pralay'.
India will display its military prowess and cultural heritage at the 76th Republic Day celebrations on Kartavya Path in New Delhi. The parade will feature 16 tableaux from states and Union Territories, 15 from central ministries, and a tri-services tableau showcasing the spirit of "jointness" among the armed forces. The event will also include a flypast featuring 40 IAF aircraft and three Indian Coast Guard Dornier aircraft, as well as a display of cutting-edge defense platforms including BrahMos, Pinaka and Akash.
Ahead of Republic Day, the Indian Army announced on Thursday the addition of two new features to this year's parade: battlefield surveillance systems and a Defebce Research and Development Organisation tableau showcasing Pralay, short-range ballistic missiles.
Even as Tauktae's intensity weakened, it left behind a trail of destruction with as many as 13 people losing their lives in different parts of Gujarat, including Bhavnagar, Rajkot, Patan, Amreli and Valsad, officials said.
President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday conferred Distinguished Service Awards, including 52 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals, on 84 serving and retired personnel of the armed forces and the Indian Coast Guard.
India will kickstart on Tuesday a two-day multi-agency military exercise covering the country's 7,516 km-long coastline and exclusive economic zone with the twin aim of checking the preparedness of various agencies to deal with any eventualities and bolster overall maritime security, officials said.
India as a sovereign democratic republic completed 75 years of its eventful journey on Sunday, with the stage set at the Kartavya Path in New Delhi for the ceremonial parade during which the country will showcase its military prowess and rich cultural heritage.
In another feat, Lt Jamyang Tsewang, the first commissioned naval officer from Ladakh, also successfully graduated as a qualified helicopter pilot, according to the Indian Navy.
In a bid to prevent the use of the sea route by terrorists as in case of the Mumbai strikes, the Coast Guard has been asked to patrol the shoreline with locally hired fishing boats or trawlers. The task of guarding the Indian coastline has been entrusted to the Coast Guard. The responsibility of overall maritime security rests with the Indian Navy.Coastal states have also been told by the government to speed up implementation of the Coastal Security Scheme.
The home minister held a video conference with Chief Ministers of Gujarat and Maharashtra -- Vijay Rupani and Uddhav Thackeray respectively -- and Administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Praful Patel, and assured them all central help in view of the impending cyclone, an official statement said in New Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reviewed the preparedness to deal with the situation arising out of the likely formation of Cyclone Jawad that is expected to hit the North Andhra Pradesh-Odisha coast and directed officials to take every possible measure to ensure that people are safely evacuated.
Late last year, the Cabinet Committee on Security had cleared the proposal for the creation of the post.
The Centre has decided to set up a Coastal Command by integrating the functions of the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard, to combat possible terrorist attacks from the sea, in light of the recent Mumbai terror attacks, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said at Kollam, in Kerala on Monday.
As the weather cleared in the morning, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force and Union Territory administration started a joint evacuation drive and brought back all stranded tourists to Port Blair from Havelock and Neil islands of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago.
Modi called for timely evacuation of those involved in off-shore activities.
The meeting also decided to strengthen the security measures to monitor the local fishing boats and crews, intensify checking of passenger boats and vessels reaching the islands and strengthen the ship berthing points and helibase by installing CCTV cameras.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force started landing in Gujarat with the help of the Indian Air Force to undertake preventive evacuation of people living on the west coast, an IAF official said.
The Indian Navy said it was in a high state of readiness to "deter, prevent and defeat" any "misadventure" by Pakistan in the maritime domain.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday reviewed the preparations for Cyclone Yaas including the evacuation of people on the high seas as well as in vulnerable coastal areas and the safety of COVID-19 facilities.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said people living in the coastal belt would be shifted to safer places.
Rulers in New Delhi and their political aides in sensitive states like Tamil Nadu have to be doubly careful not to provoke a situation whose consequences may be much more than visible now to the naked eye, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Minister of State for Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan said the vessel had more than 32,000 tonne of oil and has been emptied.
The storm is likely to impact Mumbai, Thane and other coastal districts of Maharashtra like Raigad and Palghar along with Valsad, Navsari, Surat, Bhavnagar and Bharuch districts of Gujarat and Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Preparations for the impending cyclone were discussed at a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), headed by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, a home ministry statement said.
India also went on an overdrive in expanding its military engagement with like-minded countries in its neighbourhood and beyond in the face of China's relentless attempts to become a regional hegemon and establish its primacy in South Asia.
The North Sentinel island is one of 29 islands in the Andamans where till June foreigners had to take special permission -- the RAP -- before being allowed to visit them.
Opposition parties in Lakshadweep and Kerala are up in arms against various measures initiated by the Administrator of the group of islands, terming them as 'anti-people' and have sought his recall.
The world needs to wake up to this new dimension of war at sea and be prepared to face the 'unknown enemy' who have the advantage of attacking at their choice of location and time, cautions Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
To threaten China and Pakistan, and then to sharply cut back on military funding, bespeaks a remarkable trust in Beijing and Islamabad that is not borne out by anything they say or do, notes Ajai Shukla.
The Republic Day parade, which will begin at around 1030 am, will be a unique mix of the country's military prowess and cultural diversity, depicting the country's growing indigenous capabilities, Nari Shakti and emergence of a 'New India'.
The spectator size too has been reduced to 25,000, officials said.
The anti-BJP parties have alleged that Patel unilaterally lifted restrictions on the use of alcohol in the Muslim-majority islands, banned beef products, citing Animal Preservation and demolished fishermen's sheds built on the coastal areas, saying they violated the Coast Guard Act.
The Italian coastguard coordinated one of its largest rescue operations to date, saving 5,500 people on Saturday and Sunday as smugglers took advantage of calm seas to send migrants across the Mediterranean.
"Chau violated all the norms. Moreover, he had also not informed the hotel (that he was visiting the area)."
The PM and home minister, along with all heads of various police and other security agencies, will attend the conference.
Taking a serious view of the suspicious movement of an American ship in Indian waters, the Centre on Monday sought a report from the Tamil Nadu government on the vessel which was detained for carrying arms and buying diesel unauthorisedly.
Here are highlights of the 68th Republic Day parade.
Central Industrial Security Force chief OP Singh briefed Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the heightened arrangements at airports, ports and other vital installations guarded by the central force.
Behind this never-say-die attitude of the BJP is probably the calculation of the Roman emperors that if bread is scarce, give the people circus, observes Amulya Ganguli.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances