Passing Out Parade of 136th course of National Defence Academy NDA held in Pune, Air Force chief Air Marshal BS Dhanoa chief guest of ceremony

The Passing Out Parade of the 136th course of the National Defence Academy (NDA) was held at Pune in Maharashtra on Thursday. Air Force chief Air Marshal BS Dhanoa was the chief guest in the ceremony. A total of 291 cadets, including 15 from foreign countries, were conferred degrees at the convocation ceremony at Khadakwasla near Pune on Wednesday. 

#Maharashtra: Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa at Passing Out Parade of the 136th course of the National Defence Academy (NDA) at Pune. pic.twitter.com/w2rSZAoknE

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Battalion Cadet Adjutant K Sahu won the Commandant's Silver Medal and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Trophy for securing the first position in Science stream. Battalion Cadet Captain SKS Chauhan got the Commandant's Silver Medal and the CNS Trophy for standing first in Computer Science stream. Battalion Cadet Captain A Kumar bagged the Commandant's Silver Medal and the CAS Trophy for securing the first position in the Arts stream. Cadet D S Deo won the Commandants' Silver Medal for standing first in B Tech (till the third year of course).

The cadets were conferred degrees from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)-- 55 in Science stream, 114 in Computer Science stream and 82 cadets in Arts stream. Besides, the first batch of B Tech, comprising 32 naval cadets, also received training completion certificate of three years and will be conferred with the degrees after the completion of balance one year of training at the Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala.

Air Marshal Ajit Shankarrao Bhonsle (Retd), a member of the Union Public Service Commission, who was the chief guest at the convocation ceremony, had said the curriculum at the NDA was a healthy mix of humanities and technology and added that this paradigm shift was needed for India's military leadership in the 21st century. He said the study of humanities builds emotional quotient. Bhonsle said that today's battlefield has moved from land, sea, air to the domain of space and cyber. 

As a future military officer, cadets will be faced with diverse challenges, he said. "At one time, you will be asked to lead your men on foot in hills and jungles in a search and cordon operation against terrorists, and at another time you will be asked to outsmart the invisible cyber enemy sitting thousands of mile away or asked to manoeuvre your anti-satellite projectile to shoot down a rogue satellite," he had said.