The National Defence Academy (NDA) Expo Autumn Term-2024, an exhibition and display of various hobby club activities of the academy cadets, was held from November 27 to 29. It was a part of the series of events in the run-up to the Passing Out Parade of the 147th course of India's premier tri-services academy.
Kamaljit Singh, president of NDA's Family Welfare Organisation, inaugurated the expo. It comprised displays from 23 indoor and outdoor hobby clubs taken up by the cadets. Among the displays that attracted visitors were the working projects of a sign language humanoid robot, an obstacle-avoiding system, a quad-copter drone, an underwater ultrasonic object detector and a live demonstration of rappelling by cadets.
"Kamaljit Singh appreciated the enthusiasm and passion of the cadets. She also lauded the instructors' efforts to work wonders in developing cadets' talent and critical thinking skills," said a press statement from the NDA.
The Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh will be the Reviewing Officer for the Passing Out Parade of the 147th course of the NDA, which will be held on Saturday. The convocation of the course was held on Friday and Prof Alok Kumar Rai, Vice Chancellor, Lucknow University, was the chief guest.
Each year, NDA witnesses the graduation and passing out of two batches of cadets. Upon completing their three-year training at the NDA, the cadets proceed to their respective armed forces' academies for an additional year of pre-commissioning training. This includes the Indian Naval Academy in Ezhimala, Kerala; the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun for the Army; and the Air Force Academy at Dundigal.
In June 2022, for the first time in the history of the NDA, the first batch of women cadets were admitted. These women cadets are part of the 148th course and will graduate in May 2025.
