Bhubaneswar: A total of 2585 Agniveers, including 272 women of the Indian Navy passed out from the portals of INS Chilka, at Odhisa, in a first of its kind ceremonial, post sunset Passing Out Parade, held on Tuesday.
The POP was held under the aegis of Southern Naval Command.
The parade was reviewed by Adm R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff, in the presence of VAdm MA Hampiholi, the Flag Officer Commanding-in -Chief, Southern Naval Command, Member of Parliament PT Usha, eminent sports personality Mithali Raj and eminent naval veterans.
The passing out parade marks, not only the successful culmination of 16 weeks of their ab-initio rigorous naval training, but also the start of a new voyage in the Indian Navy, where men and women will work together to make the Indian Navy a Combat Ready, Credible, Cohesive and Future Proof force.
During his address, the CNS urged the passing out trainees to hone their skills further and develop a strong foundation of knowledge, willingness to learn and commitment to excel in their respective careers that lay ahead.
He also urged them to uphold Navy's core values of Duty, Honour and Courage, in pursuit of Nation building.
The Chief Guest also awarded medals and trophies to the meritorious Agniveers on the occasion. Amalakanti Jayaram, Agniveer (SSR), Ajith P, Agniveer (MR) were awarded Chief of the Naval Staff Rolling Trophy and Gold Medal for Best Agniveer SSR & MR respectively in men's category.
Khushi, Agniveer (SSR) was the Best Woman Agniveer in the overall order of merit.
A Rolling Trophy, instituted to commemorate the vision of Late General Bipin Rawat - the first CDS was awarded to her by the daughters of Late Gen Bipin Rawat.
In the day, during the Valedictory function, the Chief of the Naval Staff gave away the overall Championship Trophy to Eklavaya Division and Runners Up Trophy to Angad and Shivaji Division.
He also unveiled the summer edition of Ankur - the bilingual trainees’ magazine of INS Chilka, in the presence of Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command and Commodore NP Pradeep, Commanding Officer, INS Chilka.
