"I feel honoured, happy..," Flying Officer Manisha Yadav after receiving President's Plaque award

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], June 18 : Flying Officer, Manisha Yadav who came first in merit amongst Ground Duty branches and was awarded the President's Plaque expressed her gratitude and said that she feels honoured and happy to be a part of the Indian Air Force.

"I feel very honoured and happy to be a part of the Indian Air Force and to receive the prize from the President," Manisha said while talking to the reporters.

The President gave away various awards to the trainees who excelled in different disciplines of training. Flying Officer Nitesh Jakhar from the Flying branch was awarded the President's Plaque and Chief of the Air Staff 'Sword of Honour' for standing first in the overall order of merit in the Pilots' Course.

Talking to the reporters after receiving the awards, Jakhar said, "It feels great to receive this award. My parents are very proud."

President Droupadi Murmu reviewed a Combined Graduation Parade held at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal in Hyderabad on Saturday.

To mark the successful culmination of the training of 194 Flight Cadets of the Flying and Ground Duty branches of the Indian Air Force, a Combined Graduation Parade was held at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal in Hyderabad.

President Droupadi Murmu was the Reviewing Officer (RO) of the Parade.

The President commissioned the Graduating Flight Cadets. The Graduating Officers included 39 women officers who got commissioned in various branches of the IAF.On this occasion, eight officers from the Indian Navy, eight officers from the Indian Coast Guard and two from Vietnam People's Air Force were also awarded Wings, on successful completion of their flying training.

The Reviewing Officer was earlier received by Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Chief of the Air Staff.

The President was presented with a Rashtriya Salute by the Parade which later marched past the dais in impeccable order. The highlight of the Parade was the 'Commissioning Ceremony' and the administering of the Oath by Commandant Air Marshal B Chandra Sekhar of the Academy.

The Parade was interspersed by well-coordinated and synchronized flypasts by Pilatus PC-7 Mk II, Dornier, Hawk, Kiran and Chetak aircraft.

The president also narrated her exhilarating experience of flying in a SU-30 MKI fighter aircraft at Air Force Station Tezpur in Apr 2023.

The RO urged the newly commissioned officers to be ready to face new challenges and imbibe the spirit of the IAF's motto i.e. 'Touch the sky with glory'.

The ceremony culminated with the newly Commissioned Officers receiving their first salute from their immediate juniors while marching out, in two columns in slow march, to the traditional notes of 'Anandaloke' by Rabindranath Tagore.