Indus Valley Times

NEW DELHI,AUG 14 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the country in celebrating the 77th Independence Day from the iconic Red Fort in Delhi on Tuesday. As part of the celebrations, around 1,800 people from different vocations, with their spouses, were invited as special guests.

These special guests include over 400 sarpanches of more than 660 villages; 250 from Farmer Producer Organisations’ scheme; 50 participants each of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana; 50 Shram Yogis (construction workers) of the Central Vista Project, including the new Parliament building; 50 each Khadi workers, those involved in construction of border roads, making of Amrit Sarovar and Har Ghar Jal Yojana as well as 50 each primary school teachers, nurses and fishermen.

Some of these special guests are scheduled to visit the National War Memorial and call on Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt as part of their stay in Delhi. The initiative has been taken in line with the Government’s vision of Jan Bhagidari, a release from the Ministry of Defence said.

As many as 75 couples from each state/Union Territory (UT), in their traditional attire, have also been invited to witness the ceremony at Red Fort. During the celebrations, PM Modi will unfurl the national flag and deliver the customary address to the nation from the ramparts of the historic monument.

Selfie points dedicated to different schemes and initiatives of the government have been installed at 12 locations, including National War Memorial, India Gate, Vijay Chowk, New Delhi Railway Station, Pragati Maidan, Raj Ghat, Jama Masjid Metro Station, Rajiv Chowk Metro Station, Delhi Gate Metro Station, ITO Metro Gate, Naubat Khana and Sheesh Ganj Gurdwara.

The schemes/initiatives include Global Hope: Vaccine and Yoga; Ujjwala Yojana; Space Power; Digital India; Skill India; Start-up India; Swachh Bharat; Sashakt Bharat, Naya Bharat; Powering India; Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission, the release said.

As part of the celebrations, an online selfie contest will be conducted by the Ministry of Defence on the MyGov portal from August 15 to 20. People are encouraged to take selfies at one or more of the 12 installations and upload them on the MyGov platform to take part in the contest.

Twelve winners, one from each installation, will be selected on the basis of the online selfie contest. The winners would be given prize money of Rs 10,000 each, the statement further said.

-PTI