73rd Republic Day: Om Birla unfurls national flag

New Delhi [India], January 26 (ANI): Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday unfurled the national flag on the occasion of the 73rd Republic Day of India.
Like every year in the national capital, this year too, a glimpse of the country's strength and culture will be seen on the Rajpath.
President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other dignitaries will be present on this occasion.
At about 10.05 am, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay tribute to the soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice for the country by reaching the National War Memorial. During that time the Defense Minister, Rajnath Singh, Minister of State for Defense Ajay Bhatt, Defense Secretary, Ajay Kumar and the Chiefs of the three wings of the Army, ie, Army, Air Force and Navy, will be present with the PM.
At 10.15 pm, PM Modi is scheduled to reach Rajpath.
The parade at Rajpath will start at 10:30 am, instead of the earlier timing of 10 am to provide better visibility to the parade and flypast.
The celebrations this year are special as Republic Day falls in the 75th year of Independence, being celebrated as 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' across the country.
To mark the occasion, the Ministry of Defence has conceptualised a series of new events during the main parade on Rajpath on January 26 and the 'Beating the Retreat' ceremony at Vijay Chowk on January 29.
It has been decided that the Republic Day celebrations will now be week-long from January 23-30 every year. The celebrations will commence on January 23, the birth anniversary of great freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and culminate on January, 30 which is observed as Martyrs' Day. (ANI)