Ahmedabad, 27 September 2014

Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel asked the school and college students associated with the National Cadet Corps (NCC) to join the massive cleanliness campaign being launched on Gandhi Jayanti on October 2, 2014, in the same spirit in which they had helped the State Government rescue and relief operation after the catastrophic earthquake in 2002

Speaking at a function to mark the opening of the newly constructed NCC Academy at Jeetnagar in Nandod taluka in Narmada district, she asked the cadets to take interest in the cleanliness of classrooms, laboratories, toilets and the surrounding areas in their respective schools and colleges.

Mrs. Patel said that the objective of NCC training is for the cadets to rise above the self and teach them the lessons of unity and discipline. She expected them to help the government in eradicating other social evils like addiction and malnutrition, too. In a freewheeling interaction, she later talked to cadets, inquiring about the training, alertness and camaraderie.

Wing Commander Abhishek Matiman, PRO (Defence), Ahmedabad adds

On 26th September 2014, at 4.30 PM, the Honorable Chief Minister of Gujarat Smt Anandiben Patel, amidst a grand NCC Ceremony, inaugurated the Gujarat NCC Leadership Academy at Jeetnagar. The inauguration of this modern academy marks the combined efforts of the State Govt and the NCC to develop the Youth of the State. In a grand ceremony, the Chief Minister was received by Major General Dilawar Singh, Additional Director General of Gujarat, Dadra Nagar Haveli, Diu & Daman and Brigadier V N Sawant, Group Commander, NCC Group HQ Vadodara. NCC Cadets also gave a Guard of Honour to the Chief Minister before she formally inaugurated the complex which has an Administrative Block, separate Hostels & Dining Halls for boys & girls Cadets of NCC and a Parade Ground.

Build at an approximate cost of 14 Crores, it has capacity to train 700 Cadets at one time. This will certainly provide the much needed boost to the NCC training & give an imputes to developing the Youth of the State. Jeetnagar, being in South Gujarat will be beneficial to Cadets of Vadodara, Surat, Navsari & Narmada Districts.

Speaking on the occasion which was attended by a large gathering consisting of almost 2,000 Officers, Staff and Cadets of NCC, the Chief Minister appreciated the dedicated efforts put in by NCC Staff of Gujarat and all those associated with the project and exhorted the young Cadets of Gujarat to make best use of the facility and improve their skills and contribute to the Nation Building. She also interacted with the Cadets and distributed gifts to children and women of Backward Class.

Major General Dilawar Singh also urged the Cadets to imbibe highest standards of leadership skills, all round personality and a strong sense of Patriotism and stressed on the need to follow “Nation First – Character Must” as the Mantra for creating an enviable Indian Society and a Strong Nation emerging a power to be reckoned with.

NCC in Gujarat has been on the upswing recently wherein besides the excellent performance in Sports, Adventure, Professional Army, Navy and Air Force training they have received the sanctions for raising of Eight New Units in Gujarat which will enable a large number of additional Youth to join NCC for being trained as leaders in all walks of life.

So far their accommodation and training facilities were inadequate however now an all round improvement has commenced. A new NCC Leadership Academy has been created at Jeetnagar, Rajpipla. This Academy spread over 8 acres of land will comprise of not only the indoor and outdoor training facilities but also will have a Small Shooting Range an Obstacle Course, Sports fields and a Drill Square.

This will also have separate girls & boys hostel and an in house Dining facility. Adequate safety measures for the Girls Hostel have been created and the cadets will be offered nutritious, wholesome meals throughout their stay.

The NCC training is now providing greater impetus to leadership skills and overall personality development. In order to provide quality training to the cadets the trainers have been trained at the Officers Training Academy of NCC at Kamptee and Women Officers Training School at Gwalior. It may be worth noting that the results achieved during training by the Gujarat NCC trainers have been really good wherein the trainers have been awarded the best grades and a few of them adjudged as Best Trainers. Besides this Gujarat NCC has been the finest to have preferred 100% Lecture Scripts and Lesson Plans in all three languages i.e. English, Hindi and Gujarati, for assisting the trainer as well as student cadets to assimilate maximum and perform well during the NCC Exams. They have been also uploaded on the Internet for ease of access both by the students and trainers.

This is one of the first such Academies of its type created in Gujarat. NCC was created in 1948 to fulfill aspirations of the youth of newly independent India with the aim of making better citizen out of young boys and girls. It became a feeder institution for armed forces and also produced leaders of National prominence. (So far the infrastructure for running the NCC programmes was adhoc and borrowed from Educational Institutions in the State. This has adversely affected the training as also inhibited the cadets from achieving their full potential).

It was evident that there is an urgent requirement to create permanent infrastructure for dedicated NCC training. Such an infrastructure would evidently help the cadets to train in a conducive environment. Thus the dream to create a “Leadership Academy” was conceived where all the basic facilities for training and administrative back up existed.

The biggest challenges faced while conducting training was of a good firing range. The state has huge potential for this sport and NCC has given Star Shooters like Lajja Goswami the platform to shine at National and International stage. There are many talented Youth in Gujarat waiting to be launched but for the lack of facilities. The talent of cadets and determination of the training staff is evident from the fact that Gujarat NCC came third in the All India NCC Shooting last year and was runners up this year even though there are no firing ranges. This Academy will ensure that NCC Gujarat performs to its full potential level at National level.

This coupled with the training aids which have been procured in last two years will ensure that the cadets are trained holistically and their training requirements are fully met.

In phase two of the development of the Academy, infrastructure will be created for adventure activities like Rock Climbing wall and Para Sailing. This will develop confidence of cadets and enhance their capabilities. An indoor firing range will ensure that the cadets can be trained in all weather conditions and produce Shooters of National and International repute.

Due to the nature of NCC’s training requirement this Academy will be continuously utilized for about seven to eight months in a year, the remaining four to five months can be utilized by the local administration for running Youth Oriented Programmes. This Academy thus will emerge as a centre of excellence for Leadership Training of the Youth of Gujarat.