Pune: The Passing out Parade (PoP) of the 133rd course of the National Defence Academy (NDA) concluded on Thursday amid a splendid display of traditional military pageantry.
In all, 250 cadets passed through the portals of the prestigious Khetrapal Parade Ground to graduate from the Academy as they . This included 152 cadets from the Army, 27 cadets from the Navy and 71 cadets from the Air Force.
The batch also included 14 cadets from Afghanistan, Bhutan, Vietnam and Maldives.
The Reviewing Officer for the event was Maj. Gen. Raimberdi Duishenbiyev, Chief of General Staff, Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic.
“Graduating from the NDA is a great honour and privilege for all cadets. I believe this academy is one of the earliest three service-academies in the world. In its 60 years of existence, outstanding military leaders as well as cosmonauts, athletes, researchers, even writers and artists have graduated from the NDA,” said Maj. Gen. Duishenbiyev, in his address, while complimenting the cadets for their exceptional drill movements. He mentioned the pride he felt in reviewing the parade and spoke of the friendly ties between the two countries
Academy Cadet Captain Arjun Thakur won the President’s Gold Medal for standing first in the overall order of merit. Divisional Cadet Captain Rahul Bisht won the silver medal for standing second in the overall order of merit, and Battalion Cadet Captain Shashank Shekhar won the bronze medal in the overall order of merit.
The ‘November’ Squadron bagged the prestigious Chiefs of Staff Banner for being the Champion Squadron which was ceremonially presented during the parade.
The PoP had commenced earlier this week with the inauguration of an expo of the cadets’ hobby club activities.
