69th Republic Day to begin shortly: Where, when and how to watch grand parade along Rajpath at India Gate

As India gears up to celebrate the 69th Republic Day on Friday, whole country will be watching the parade along the Rajpath near India Gate. This year, in a first, 10 state heads from the ASEAN member-states will share the dias with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind. India’s military might, culture, and diversity will also be on full display with various tableau as well as women personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF) enthralling the audience with their motorcycle act.

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Five Mi-17 V5 helicopters of the Indian Air Force would precede the parade commander and the lead helicopter will carry the national flag. The second helicopter will carry ASEAN flag and the other three choppers would carry the flags of the Army, Navy and the Air Force, while the echelon aircraft would shower flower petals, according to an office memorandum issued by the Home Ministry.

To mark the silver jubilee of India-ASEAN bilateral ties, India also hosted a commemorative summit on the theme “Shared Values, Common Destiny” on the eve of the Republic Day on Thursday.

When and where can one watch it

The Republic Day parade will be aired on DD National from 9 am to 11:30 am on Friday, NDTV reported. DD News will show the sign language version of the commentary on the parade at the same time. Those who would like to watch it online, can stream it on Youtube channel of Doordarshan.

1 Day to go...
Get ready for a visual feast!#RepublicDayParade2018 - 26th Jan, Friday - LIVE from 9 am onward on @DDNational &
Live-Stream on : https://t.co/OFUmYgGtxS …
MUST WATCH! #RepublicDayOnDD #RepublicDayParade #RepublicDay2018 #RepublicDay pic.twitter.com/6p7q3VBB9l

— Doordarshan National दूरदर्शन नेशनल (@DDNational) January 25, 2018

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Things to watch out for

Twenty years after its tableau rolled down the Rajpath, the India-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) will return with its float in the Republic Day parade on Thursday showing troops patrolling the China border on their newly-inducted snow scooters. The India-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is the only one among the multiple paramilitary and border guarding forces that will have a tableau in the parade. A camel contingent of the BSF and columns of the 61st cavalry with 51 horses will be part of the parade.

Also, for the first time, a tableau of All India Radio will be leading a series of 23 tableaux during the R-Day Parade. The AIR tableau will feature Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s monthly radio address Mann Ki Baat. Of the 23 tableaux in the parade, 14 would be representing different states and Union Territories. The rest would be of ministries and departments of Government of India. An Income Tax Department tableau about special anti-black money drive launched post-demonetisation is also amid the many firsts this Republic Day

The ASEAN leaders

The leaders participating from different countries in the Republic Day parade are President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc of Vietnam, Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia, General Prayuth Chan-o-cha of Thailand, Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar, Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte, the Sultan of Brunei, Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith of Laos and Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of Cambodia.

With inputs from PTI