India celebrates 68th Republic day: What to look out for this year's R-day parade

New Delhi: India will be celebrating its 68th Republic Day on Thursday. The day is marked by a grand parade that takes place in the national capital. The Republic Day parade will start with the salute of Parade Commander Lt. Gen. M.M. Narwane, GoC, and Delhi Area. A total of four helicopters would pave the way for the parade commander. The national flag will be carried by the lead helicopter, while the other three would carry services flags as echelon aircraft would shower flower petals. The main highlight of this year's Parade will be a fly-past from Tejas, India's single-seat, single-jet engine and multi-role light fighter which is designed for the Indian Army and Navy. Another is the marching contingent of National Security Guards (NSG), who is popularly known as black cat commandos. After 23 years on 68th Republic Day Parade, Lakshadweep will also be participating in the parade with other states like Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Gujarat, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh. Union territory tableau will be focusing on various hidden destinations and the opportunities available for tourism. This year the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will be the chief guest . A contingent of 179 UAE soldiers will lead the Republic Day parade this year. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will showcase its Advanced Towed Artillery System and Medium Power Radar Arudha at the parade .