NEW DELHI, NOV 23: The National Cadet Corps has competed 76 years of its existence and made commendable efforts in increasing the strength of cadets, the defence ministry said on Saturday asserting that the Corps will touch the strength of 20 lakh in coming years.
The largest uniformed youth organisation in the world, the NCC was raised in 1948.
The Corps will celebrating its 76th Raising Day on Sunday, the ministry said in a statement.
The NCC has made “commendable efforts in increasing the strength of cadets by 3 lakh and will be touching the strength of 20 lakh in coming years”, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh was quoted as saying in the statement.
He laid a wreath and paid homage to the fallen heroes on behalf of the entire NCC fraternity at the National War Memorial here.
Singh emphasised the role of the NCC in the ‘Viksit Bharat’ campaign, a pivotal initiative by the Government of India.
“The NCC continues its relentless efforts, towards moulding the present day youth into responsible citizens of tomorrow in order to achieve the objective of ‘Yuva Shakti ‘ Viksit Bharat’,” he said.
On this 76th Raising Day, cadets are participating in march past at various cities and are involved in various cultural activities.
As per tradition, the NCC day is being celebrated across India and pan-India ‘Blood Donation camps’ are being organised. The quantum of blood donation this year is likely to exceed the mark of 50,000 blood units donation achieved last year, it said.
Apart from this, various social activities and cultural awareness programs are being organised like tree plantation drive, cleaning of statues, ‘Swachhta hi Sewa’, and Nasha Mukti Abhiyaan.
Apart from aiming for its expansion, the syllabus and training of the NCC cadets have also been “overhauled with a specific aim” and desired outcome in consonance with various government initiatives.
This change of syllabus is done with an aim to make the cadets confident by building their character and confidence which will lead to ‘Viksit Bharat’, the ministry said.–(PTI)
