Amid foggy, windy & cold winters in Delhi accompanied by the rising corona cases, the Republic Day Parade practices are going on with full vigor. Although the pandemic has not been able to dampen the spirits of the participants, it has brought in some changes and reduction in numbers for the Republic Day Parade (RDP) celebrations. Nevertheless, as 2022 marks India’s 75th year of independence, 16 marching contingents, 17 military bands and 25 tableaux of various states, departments and armed forces will be seen adorning the streets of Rajpath in the national capital on January 26, 2022.

“Three marching contingents of the Indian Army will wear uniforms and carry rifles from previous decades, while one contingent will wear the new combat uniform and carry the latest Tavor rifles at Republic Day Parade-2022 as a part of 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' celebrating the 75th year of India's independence.” —Major General Alok Kakkar

The Indian Army is geared up totake the audience at the RDP 2022 on a journey of the evolution that its uniforms and weaponry has gone through over the past decades.During a press briefing on Sunday, Major General Alok Kakkar informed, “How Indian Army uniforms and rifles have evolved over the decades will be on display at this year's Republic Day parade. Three marching contingents of the Indian Army will wear uniforms and carry rifles from previous decades, while one contingent will wear the new combat uniform and carry the latest Tavor rifles at Republic Day Parade-2022 as a part of 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' celebrating the 75th year of India's independence.”

• Carrying .303 rifles, the Indian Army's first marching contingent (Rajput regiment soldiers) will wear the 1950s uniform.
• The second marching contingent (Assam regiment soldiers) will wear the 1960s uniform of the Indian Army and carry .303 rifles.
• The third marching contingent, the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry regiment, march donning the 1970s uniform of the Army, who will form, and they will carry 7.62 mm self-loading rifles.
• The fourth and fifth marching contingents will be of Sikh Light Infantry and Army Ordnance Corps Regiment respectively, and will wear the current uniform of the Army and carry 5.56 mm INSAS rifles.
• The Parachute regiment soldiers, comprising the sixth contingent, who will come wearing the new combat uniform, which was unveiled earlier this month, and carry Tavor rifles.

While six marching contingents would be of the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force will have one each, four contingents would be of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), two of National Cadet Corps (NCC), one of Delhi Police, and one of National Service Scheme (NSS).

While six marching contingents would be of the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force will have one each, four contingents would be of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), two of National Cadet Corps (NCC), one of Delhi Police, and one of National Service Scheme (NSS). Given the COVID-19 protocol, each marching contingent will consist of 96 soldiers instead of the usual 144.

A mounted column of cavalry, 14 mechanised columns, six marching contingents and a fly-past by advanced light helicopters of its aviation wing will represent the Army at the RDP-2022. As part of the mechanised columns of the Army, the following will be displayed:

• one PT-76 tank,
• one Centurion tank,
• two MBT Arjun MK-I tanks,
• one APC TOPAS armoured personnel carriers,
• one BMP-I infantry fighting vehicle
• two BMP-II infantry fighting vehicles
• one 75/24 Pack howitzer,
• two Dhanush howitzers,
• one PMS bridge-laying system,
• two Sarvatra bridge-laying systems,
• one HT-16 electronic warfare system,
• two Taran Shakti electronic warfare systems,
• one Tiger Cat missile system and
• two Akash missile systems

The marching contingents in all would be from the armed forces, central paramilitary forces, Delhi Police, NCC, and NSS accompanied by military bands, pipes and drum bands at the parade.The central paramilitary forces will have its representation through five marching contingents of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Police Force (CISF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Border Security Force (BSF). The motorcycle display will be carried by one male team of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and one female team of Border Security Officer (BSF). This would be the women team’s second show at the parade.The parade will also include two Param Vir Chakra and one Ashok Chakra awardees as part of the parade.

RDP-2022 will march from Vijay Chowk through the traditional route of Rajpath but would only go up to the National Stadium in view of COVID this time. The tableaux will be proceeding till the Red Fort.

The Republic Day parade usually starts from Raisina Hills and goes through Rajpath, India Gate up till Red Fort. However, RDP-2022 will march from Vijay Chowk through the traditional route of Rajpath but would only go up to the National Stadium in view of COVID this time. The tableaux will be proceeding till the Red Fort RDP-2022 will also begin 30 minutes late i.e. at 10.30 am IST and end at 12 noon.

The annual Beating the Retreat Ceremony, celebrated on January 29, would have a projection mapping with laser this year that would be done on the wall of the North and South block. This will be followed by a drone show in which 1,000 drones will take part. These drones are from an Indian start-up and are expected to be a major highlight and eye-catching activity at this year’s parade.

Defence Minister meets NCC cadets ahead of RDP-22

On January 22, 2022, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh who was COVID-19 positive, virtually interacted with the NCC cadets, taking part in the Republic Day Camp 2022. He is an NCC alumni and teacher himself. Citing Swami Vivekananda, he said, “You are lions, you are souls, pure, infinite, and perfect. The might of the universe is within you. Go ahead in your lives with a vision to create something new, something of the highest order, something that makes you successful and makes our country proud.” The event also marked the announcement of the winners of this year’s Raksha Mantri Padak& Commendation Cards. The Raksha Mantri Padak was instituted in 1989.

DRDO at RDP-22

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will display two tableaux during the forthcoming Republic Day Parade. The tableaux are ‘Suite of Indigenously Developed Sensors, Weapons and Electronic Warfare Systems for LCA Tejas’ and ‘Air Independent Propulsion System (AIP)’ developed for the submarines of Indian Navy.

The first tableau would showcase an indigenously-developed Advanced Electronically Scanned Array Radar called ‘Uttam’; five different aerial launched weapons and an Electronic Warfare (EW) Jammer to further enhance the capabilities of fourth generation LCA (Light Combat Aircraft) Tejas. The ‘Uttam’ radar is developed by Bangalore-based electronics laboratory.The five aerial launched weapons include air–to-air missile ‘Astra’; ‘Rudram’; ‘Smart Anti Airfield Weapon’; a long range guided glide bomb ‘Gaurav’ and ‘Tactical Advanced Range Augmentation’. These weapons are developed using complex technologies by Hyderabad-based DRDO laboratories.

The annual Beating the Retreat Ceremony, would have a projection mapping with laser, followed by a drone show in which 1,000 drones by an Indian Start-up will take part.

The second tableau would display indigenously-developed AIP System for propelling the Indian Naval submarines underwater. The AIP System is powered by indigenously-developed fuel cells with a novel onboard hydrogen generator. This niche technology is available only with very few countries in the world.