917 girls will participate in the National Cadet Corps (NCC) Republic Day Camp 2025, the largest number till date. DG NCC Lt Gen Gurbirpal Singh stated on 3 January 2025 at a Press Conference that the month-long camp will see the participation of 2,361 cadets from across the country, which include 114 from Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, and 178 from the North East Region. He added that approximately 135 cadets from 18 friendly countries will participate in the camp under the Youth Exchange Programme.
The NCC Republic Day (RD) Camp-2025 had earlier commenced on 30 December 2024 at the Cariappa Parade Ground, Delhi Cantt. The Camp holds the fundamental aim of instilling a profound sense of patriotism, discipline, and leadership qualities among the participating cadets. This annual event serves as a platform to offer cadets valuable opportunities for training, engaging in cultural activities, and participating in social service initiatives, thereby nurturing unity and pride.
During the camp, the cadets will participate in a number of activities such as cultural and training competitions. The aim of the camp is to provide exposure to the rich culture and traditions of India, enhance personal traits of cadets and strengthen their value system. A marching contingent of NCC will also participate in the Republic Day Parade at Kartavya Path on 26 January 2025. The activities will culminate with the PM’s Rally on 27 January 2025.
In his address on Friday, the DG NCC highlighted the major achievements of NCC in 2024. He emphasised that the strength of NCC cadets has increased from 17 lakh to 20 lakh with 40% being girls. He added that apart from regular 1,162 Annual Training Camps, six Special National Integration Camps and 33 Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Camps were conducted and in addition to the routine adventure activities, NCC carried out the following:
– Special Mountaineering Expeditions to Mt Kang Yatse (Ladakh) and Mt Abi Gamin (Uttarakhand).
– First-of-its-kind Special Sailing Expedition by 550 cadets over Ganga & Hooghly covering a distance of 1,720 kms.
– Sailing Expedition along the coastline from Mumbai to Visakhapatnam covering a distance of 3,045 kms.
– Historical re-enactment of Dandi March by 40 cadets covering a distance of 410 kms in 14 days. The Padyatra was conducted from December 10-23, 2024 culminating at National Salt Satyagraha Memorial in Dandi, Gujarat.
– Cyclothon from Meerut to New Delhi. The activity, which began on December 30, 2024, will pass through Bareilly, Lucknow, Varanasi, Jhansi & Agra covering 1,900 kms.
– Cyclothon from Hussianiwala to New Delhi. It would traverse through Khemkaran, Amritsar, Panipat covering 704 kms.
– NCC organised blood donation camps to mark its Raising Day. 40,000 units of blood were donated with an aim of saving lives.
The DG NCC also highlighted that over nine lakh trees were planted as part of ‘Ek Ped Maa ke Naam’. More than eight lakh cadets participated in the International Day of Yoga, and over four lakh cadets took part in Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to promote cleanliness.
Additionally, in 2024, cadets training on contemporary subjects like cyber awareness & disaster management, and visits to institutes like Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) were also organised, the DG informed.
