CHENNAI: A total of 167 male cadets and 31 women cadets got commissioned into the armed forces after the passing out parade held at Officers Training Academy (OTA) on Saturday. The ceremony, which also saw the graduation of five male cadets and seven women cadets from the Kingdom of Bhutan, lacked the usual fanfare due to the second wave of Covid pandemic and safeguards put in place.
Parents of the graduating officer cadets were not able to witness the event. However, OTA-Chennai had made arrangements for live streaming of the Passing Out Parade and Pipping Ceremony on Doordarshan Podhigai, Doorddarshan Bharati and YouTube Channels.
The parade was reviewed by Lieutenant General YK Joshi, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) Northern Command, who also presented the Sword of Honour and OTA Gold Medal to Abdesh Katoch, Silver Medal to Adarsh Pratap Singh and the Bronze Medal to Mani Mehtab Dhaliwal, a woman cadet.
The reviewing officer complimented the officer cadets and OTA staff on the excellent all-round standards displayed by all. He exhorted the cadets to always adhere to the core values of ‘Selfless Service to the Nation’ and strive for excellence in all their endeavours.