India will celebrate Independence Day on August 15 and farmers, youth, women, and the poor -- who Prime Minister Narendra Modi had hailed as the 'four pillars of developed India' during his Varanasi visit after being re-elected for a third term, feature prominently in the list of over 4,000 guests that the Centre has framed for the upcoming celebrations.
The event at the Red Fort will see these special guests who are permitted to bring along one family member with them.
Guests are divided into 11 categories -- 1,000 are from the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare category, 600 from the Youth Affairs category, and 300 from the Women and Child Development category. There are 300 each from the Panchayati Raj and Rural Development, while 350 have been invited from the Tribal Affairs category. Two hundred each have been called from School Education and Literacy and Border Roads Organisation/ Ministry of Defence, and 150 each have been called from the Health and Family Welfare and Sports categories The Indian Express reported.
Apart from this, there are 1,200 special guests from the Niti Aayog category.
The special guests get their invites by the concerned departments via the Ministry of Defence.
Citing a source, the publication noted "...150 elected women representatives, along with their families, are included. There’s a focus on youth, with 400 NSS volunteers under the Meri Maati Mera Desh scheme, 100 beneficiaries of MyBharat scheme, and students of PM Shri schools being on the list."
The source added, "All the special guests will arrive in Delhi on August 14 and some of them are scheduled to visit the National War Memorial. They would call on some senior ministers during their stay in Delhi."
Around 150 students of the Eklavya Model Residential Schools, apart from 100 tribal artisans and Vab Dhan Vikas Yojana members, along with 50 tribal entrepreneurs have also been invited.
This time, the overall guest list is reportedly much higher, and at least 18,000 e-invitation cards have been issued for the 78th Independence Day celebrations.