A NCC Air Wing girl cadet received the All India Best Cadet medal and a baton from Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the PM NCC Rally at New Delhi conducted a couple of days after the Republic Day celebrations.
Representing 3 TN Air Squadron NCC, Tiruchi, Flight Cadet R. Reshma, pursuing B.Sc Chemistry at the Bishop Heber College says she did not dream of receiving the medal. ‘I did not want to join the NCC. My father, who is serving in the Indian Army, encouraged me to join. Once I enrolled myself in the NCC I fell in love with it,’ says Reshma, a second year student.
She qualified for the Inter-Group Camp (IGC) - a state-level event and won a gold medal in 2019. Thereafter, she was selected to represent the Tamil Nadu NCC Directorate at the Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi. She competed with 16 other cadets at the all-India level from different wings in six tough contests that included extempore speech, written examination and firing at the national-level Republic Day camp. ‘Although I fared well in all the rounds, I scored the highest in the firing event,’ she says.
She credits her success to friends, relatives and teachers and wants to join the Air Force. M. A. Deepan, a second-year student of B.Sc. Chemistry of the same college was the Parade Commander leading a 50-member NCC contingent representing Tamil Nadu and Andaman Directorate at the annual Prime Minister’s NCC rally this year.
Hailing from Dharmapuri, Mr. Deepan resides at the college hostel. Staying on campus helped him to attend practice sessions in the morning. ‘I joined the National Service Scheme initially. But after watching the NCC drill practice, I joined it,’ he says. ‘Several hostel mates and classmates discouraged me. But their words motivated me to achieve,’ he says.
