“Students have been showing keen interest in joining National Cadet Corps (NCC) during the past couple of years and the demand has been growing,” said Cmde V.V.S. Raju, Group Commander, NCC Group Headquarters, Visakhapatnam, on the occasion of the 66 NCC Day celebrated here on Sunday.
“We would like to include more youth into NCC and groom them into future leaders of our nation, provided we get the necessary resources. It also gives the youth a bit of exposure to the armed forces,” he said.
NCC cadets from Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, and Srikakulam districts participated in the celebrations that included march-past by Army, Navy, and Air Force wings, and a tree plantation programme at various NCC unit locations.
Highlighting the role of NCC in times of natural calamities like cyclones, Cmde Raju said that the cadets were trained human resources and played a vital role in providing support to the district administration.
He said that during the days following the cyclone Hudhud, NCC cadets provided help in the form of monitoring traffic, clearing debris at various critical points of the city, and helped the underprivileged by undertaking social service initiatives.
There were 14,000 cadets under the local Group Headquarters of NCC, which included the districts of Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam, and Vizianagaram.
For the upcoming All India Nau Sainik Camp that will be held in Karvad in January next year, 40 cadets are being trained from the AP and Telangana contingents.
“The Eastern Naval Command provides training to the cadets during which they are trained in naval service subjects and other specialised skills like sailing and boat pulling,” Cmde Raju said.
Speaking about the Republic Day Camp in New Delhi, he said it was a prestigious event for cadets as they would be meeting the President, the Prime Minister, and other top dignitaries, including Chief of the armed forces.
For the RD Parade, 14 cadets will be selected this year.
On the occasion, prizes were distributed to the Permanent Instructional (PI) and civilian staff that was followed by the customary ‘Barakhana’ at Mrs. A.V.N. College.
Col. V.N. Bhardwaj, Commanding Officer, and staff members of Mrs. AVN College were present.
