5,000 special guests representing grassroots India attend Independence Day celebrations 

Nearly 5,000 special guests, including Anganwadis, Lakhpati Didis, and sarpanchs drawn from across the country, attended the 79^th Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort on Friday.

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The invitees also included members of India’s contingent for the upcoming Special Olympics 2025, winners of international sporting events, and gold medalists of the Khelo India Para Games.

Farmers recognised under the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission, those excelling in the cultivation of medicinal plants, and cooperatives availing credit through the credit guarantee scheme for e-negotiable warehouse receipts were also part of the gathering.

Grassroots leaders featured prominently, with sarpanches from open-defecation-free plus villages and performers of the Catch the Rain Abhiyan joining the celebrations.

Young achievers such as authors selected under the PM-YUVA mentorship scheme, skilled youth trained under PM-VIKAS, and student beneficiaries of PM-DAKSH, SHREYAS (Scheme for Higher Education Youth in Apprenticeship and Skills), and SHRESTA (Scheme for Residential Education for Students in High Schools in Targeted Areas) schemes were also present.

Entrepreneurs supported by the PM Van Dhan Yojana, National SC/ST Hub Scheme, VISVAS initiative, and the National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC) added to the mix, alongside self-help groups, successful Primary Agricultural Credit Societies, and beneficiaries of flagship schemes such as Lakhpati Didi and PM Awaas Yojana (Gramin).

Representatives from Delhi schools who won national-level competitions, 50 sanitation workers recognised under the Swachhta Campaign, Anganwadi workers and supervisors, rescued bonded labourers, and rehabilitated women and children highlighted the social sector participation.

Volunteers involved in International Yoga Day, innovators under the Innovations for Defence Excellence initiative, My Bharat volunteers, and tribal children from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were also part of the contingent.

Adding cultural vibrancy, over 1,500 people from various states and union territories dressed in traditional attire attended to witness the national ceremony. Guests from Vibrant Villages along the borders represented communities at the country’s frontiers.

Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Amit Shah, J P Nadda, Rajnath Singh, Dharmendra Pradhan, Jitendra Singh, Arjun Meghwal, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivansh Singh, were also among those present along with National Security Advisor Ajeet Doval and Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India P K Mishra.