A dress rehearsal of the parade held here today on Rajpath also made it clear that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet projects like 'Jan Dhan Yojna', 'Maa Ganga', 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan', bullet train and the 'Make in India' drive will be in the spotlight this year as most of the tableaux were based on these themes.
The main attraction of this year's event, which will have US President Barack Obama as its Chief Guest, is going to be the all-women marching contingents of the three Servics with 'Women's Empowerment' being the theme of the 66th Republic Day parade.
The preview today began with four army helicopters flying above Rajpath displaying the tricolour and the flags of Army, Air Force and Navy.
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Along with modern weaponry systems, contingents of armed forces' personnel, paramilitary forces and NCC cadets marched to the beat of the bands accompanying them.
CRPF's elite "CoBRA" Force and Delhi Police's marching contingent, a regular at the parade since 1950, got the loudest cheers as they walked past the large gathering of Delhiites which had turned up to witness the preview.
National bravery award-winning children seated in open jeeps, too, were part of the cultural pageant. What also caught the attention of the spectators at the dress rehearsal was the musical band mounted on bedecked camels.