Commemorating India’s 67th Independence Day

India commemorates its  freedom from British rule  every 15th of August. This year, the country is celebrating its 67th Independence Day. The Independence Day celebration is a much anticipated event. It is attended annually with decorated officials of the country heading the activities.

The flagship event

August 15 is a national holiday and is essentially a celebration of India’s political independence from the British. Kicking off the celebrations this year is the raising of the national flag by the Prime Minister. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is going to lead the hoisting of India’s national tricolor together with other high echelon officials in New Delhi at Red Fort. After the hoisting over the ramparts of Red Fort, the Prime Minister is expected to deliver a speech.

Formal celebrations

The Prime Minister is going to be received by Minister of State for Defense, Jitendra Sigh, Defense Minister A.K Antony and Defense Secretary R.K, Mathur as he enters the Lahori Gate of the famous Red Fort. Waiting in line to be introduced to the Prime Minister is Lt. General Subroto Mitra, General Officer Commanding, Delhi Area. Lt. Mitra will then guide the Prime Minister to the saluting area where a general salute will be presented by Police Guards and Inter-Services personnel.

On this stage the Prime Minister will inspect the Guard of Honor contingent composed of an officer and twenty four personnel each coming from the Air Force, Navy, Army and the Delhi Police. After the inspection, the Prime Minister will proceed to the ramparts where he will be saluted by India’s top brass officials. The Prime Minister will be assisted by Fg. Officer Shaheen Khan in the unfolding of the National Flag which is going to be executed with a 21-gun salute from the gunners of 871 Field Regiment (SHINGO). This will be followed by the PM’s speech after which NCC Cadets and schoolchildren sing India’s National Anthem.

Google participation in India’s Independence Day

In connection to India’s Independence Day celebration, Google took part by launching an event on Tuesday called Google Impact Challenge. Google launched the event to encourage nonprofits in India to illustrate how to improve people’s way of living through the use of technology. The event will choose four nonprofits, each bound to receive a total of $500,000 in order to realize their projects.

Nikesh Arora, Google’s Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer commented on a blog post that the company celebrates the eve of India’s Independence Day by acknowledging the creativity of hard working entrepreneurs in terms of using technology. Arora added that growing up in the world’s largest democracy allowed him to personally witness the innovativeness of India’s local nonprofits.

Choosing the winners

The event is scheduled to accept participants until the 5th of September. India’s nonprofits can pass their applications online according to Mr. Arora. The top ten finalists will be announced on October 21. The top ten finalists are going to be heard live on October 31. Three winners will be chosen based on the following criteria: ingenuity, impact and scalability. A Fan Favorite is also going to be chosen based on online votes. All entries can be viewed by the public and everyone is allowed to cast a vote.