CELEBRATIONS
Beating Retreat 2022
President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime minister Narendra Modi, defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other dignitaries at the ‘Beating Retreat’ ceremony, at Vijay Chowk, in New Delhi on January 29, 2022.
When Pride, Innovation, Indigenisation & Heritage were in the Air The annual Beating Retreat ceremony this year witnessed light, arts, music, and patriotism like never before with the first ever laser and drones show
Photographs: PIB
By Ayushee Chaudhary As the celebrations of the 73rd Republic Day of India approached its conclusion, the capital was accessorised like never before. To add to the highlights marking 75 years of India’s independence, the annual Beating Retreat ceremony witnessed a breath taking display of indigenisation through a drones show. This year’s Beating Retreat that was held at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi on January 29, 2022, witnessed “marching on ground, music in air and sparkle in sky”. A total of 1,000 ‘Make in India’ drones took to the sky during the ceremony, depicting a “jugalbandi of tradition and technology, lights and music,” as noted by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). This spectacular feat has allowed India to become only the 4th nation after China, Russia and UK to carry out such
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ISSUE 2 • 2022
a large scale show with 1,000 drones. The nation’s biggest ‘Drone Show’ was executed by Indian startup, Botlab Dynamics under Union Ministry of Science and Technology and led by IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Delhi alumni. The show, was conceptualised, designed, produced and choreographed under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. For the first time, the novel drone show was made a part of the ceremony to commemorate 75 years of Independence, being celebrated as ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’. The show went on for the duration of 10 minutes involving around 1,000 drones fabricated through indigenous technology. Synchronised background music and narration was also played during the drone show. From Mahatma Gandhi’s figure to the national war memorial, a rotating globe to a map
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