The President’s Colour – the highest honour that is bestowed upon any military unit – was received by Indian Naval Academy Cadet Capt. Sushil Singh on behalf of the INA in an impressive parade comprising 730 cadets of INA and 150 men Guard of Honour on Wednesday. Shri Ram Nath Kovind, the Hon’ble President of India and the Supreme Commander of Indian Armed Forces, awarded the President’s Colour to Indian Naval Academy (INA) at the ceremony hosted.

The Hon’ble President of India congratulated the INA, its present incumbents as well as past, on the award of the President’s Colour and on completion of 50 years of Naval Academy for their hard work and dedication towards realization of this proud day.

Whilst speaking at the occurrence Hon’ble President said, “The fine parade this morning resonates well with the high reputation this Academy has earned for itself in a relatively short span of time. The President’s Colour should serve as the motivating symbol to inspire and mould a generation of officers that will pass out from this world class institution.”

Shri Arif Mohammed Khan, Hon’ble Governor of Kerala, Admiral Karambir Singh, PVSM, AVSM, ADC, Chief of the Naval Staff, Kerala State Minister for Ports, Museums, Archaeology and Archives, Shri Ramachandran Kadannappally, Vice Admiral AK Chawla, AVSM, NM, VSM, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command, and other senior service and civilian dignitaries graced the occasion.

The event was also witnessed by NCC Cadets of 32^nd Battalion, Kerala and children from Sainik School, Kodagu and local schools of Payyannur, besides the service and civilian personnel of INA. Indian Naval Ships Magar and Sujata and Indian Coast Guard Ship Sarathi were anchored off Ettikkulam Bay to mark the momentous occasion.

Award of the President’s Colour to Indian Naval Academy is recognition of the yeoman service rendered by the institution in shaping the leadership of the Navy by training naval officers over the last 50 years at three different locations – Kochi, Goa, and Ezhimala. The Naval Academy was first established at a temporary location at Kochi in 1969. With the increase in strength of the trainees, the Naval Academy was relocated to INS Mandovi at Goa in 1986. The Indian Naval Academy (INA) found its permanent home at Ezhimala, Kerala and was inaugurated on 08 January 2009. INA, Ezhimala, over a period of 10 years, has commissioned 5930 officers into Indian Navy and Coast Guard including 531 women officers. INA has a present strength of 963 trainees including 44 women trainees and 26 trainees from friendly foreign countries.

Indian Navy was the first of the three armed forces to be awarded the President’s Colour on 27 May 1951. Besides the INA, Southern Naval Command, Eastern Naval Command, Western Naval Command, the Western & Eastern Fleet as well as the Submarine Arm are the units of the Indian navy to be awarded similarly soon.

A special postal cover was also released by the Hon’ble President of India to commemorate the occasion.

(The writer is a Delhi-based independent contributor to print and online publications)