INDIA. Mumbai: A passing out parade (POP) of the first batch of nearly 2600 Agniveers, including 273 women, will be held at INS Chilka, the premier basic training establishment for Agniveers, located at Barkul in Odisha, in the presence of high-ranking officials on March 28.
Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R. Hari Kumar will be the Chief Guest and the Reviewing Officer of the POP. Vice Admiral MA Hampiholi, the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Naval Command (SNC), will be there, along with other senior naval officers and dignitaries.
The parade, which will commence at 5.30 p.m. post-sunset, will mark the culmination of 16 weeks of training for the first batch. The first night of POP, which will be run in the presence of well-known sailors and athletes from around the world, will be a turning point. The official statement said that the successful trainees would be sent to train on front-line warships.
The first batch includes those women and men from Agniveer who participated in this year’s Indian Navy’s Republic Day parade at the Kartavya Path in New Delhi.
During the parade, the Chief Guest will give awards in different categories to Agniveers who deserve them. This year onwards, acknowledging the contribution of the first Chief of Defence Staff, the late General Bipin Rawat, towards the transformational Agnipath scheme, the Indian Navy has instituted the General Bipin Rawat Rolling Trophy for the “Woman Agniveer Trainee Standing First in Overall Order of Merit”. The trophy will be presented to the deserving woman, Agniveer, by the daughters of the late General Rawat.
For the first time, the parade is being attended by veteran sailors who have excelled in their service as well as post-retirement careers and eminent sportswomen as guests of honour. Padma Shri PT Usha, Rajya Sabha MP and President of the Indian Olympics Association, and Arjuna Awardee Padma Shri Mithali Raj, former captain of the Indian women’s cricket team, have consented to grace this occasion with their presence.
Other veterans include Chiman Singh, ex-PO CDI, Mahavir Chakra, a war hero of the 1971 Indo-Pak War; Padma Shri Gajanan Jagannath Mane, who participated in the 1971 India-Pak War; Harjinder Singh Cheema, ex-POME, Shankar Singh Shishodia, ex-POCDI; Darshan Singh Ahluwalia; Avtar Singh, ex-MCELR II ( an inspirational coach of the Indian Women’s Team (Junior); Harishankar Yadav, ex-POEL (P); and Manoj Kumar Sharma, ex-POEL (R).
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