Based on the twin themes of 'Viksit Bharat' and 'Bharat - Loktantra Ki Matruka', this year's parade will see the participation of 13,000 special guests.
For the first time ever, the parade will be heralded by over 100 women artists playing Indian musical instruments. The parade would start with the music of Sankh, Naadswaram, Nagada, etc. to be played by these women artists.
It will also see the first participation of an all-women tri-service contingent marching down the Kartavya Path. Women pilots will also enthral the audience during the flypast, representing "Nari Shakti". The contingents of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will also consist of only women personnel.
The Republic Day parade will start at 10,30 am and run for a duration of 90 minutes. The ceremony will start with the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the National War Memorial.
Kartavya Path will be witness to a march past by a combined band and marching contingent of the French armed forces. A 30-member band contingent will be headed by Captain Khourda, which will be followed by a 90-member marching contingent, led by Captain Noel. A multirole tanker aircraft and two Rafale fighter jets of the French Air and Space Force will fly above the contingents.
The first Indian Army contingent leading the mechanised column will be of the 61 Cavalry, led by Major Yashdeep Ahlawat. Raised in 1953, the 61 Cavalry is the only serving active Horsed Cavalry Regiment in the world.
The Indian Navy contingent will consist of 144 men and women Agniveers, led by Lt Prajwal M as Contingent Commander and Lt Mudita Goyal, Lt Sharvani Supreiya, and Lt Devika H as Platoon Commanders. It will be followed by the naval tableau, depicting the themes 'Nari Shakti' and 'Sea Power Across the Oceans Through Indigenisation'.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) will comprise 144 airmen and four officers, led by Squadron Leader Rashmi Thakur. Squadron Leaders Sumita Yadav and Pratiti Ahluwalia, and Flight Lieutenant Kirti Rohil will march past as supernumerary officers behind the Contingent Commander.
Many critical systems and technologies developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will be showcased during the parade. The DRDO tableau is based on the theme 'Women power in protecting the nation by providing the defence shield in all five dimensions, namely land, air, sea, cyber, and space'.
The contingents of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and Delhi Police will be led by women personnel. Border Security Force marching contingent will be headed by Assistant Commandant Monika Lakra; Central Industrial Security Force by Assistant Commandant Tanmayee Mohanty; Central Reserve Police Force by Assistant Commandant Megha Nair; Indo-Tibetan Border Police by Assistant Commandant Moniya Sharma; Sashastra Seema Bal by Deputy Commandant Nancy Singla; and Delhi Police by Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Shweta K Sugathan.
