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Dr. Ajay Kumar, IAS, Defence, Secretary, Govt of India, visited NCC institution of NCC Group Headquarters Vadodara at Surat on 28 December 2021 and also interacted with Officers, Staff and NCC cadets. On arrival at the venue, the Defence Secretary, was given a "Guard of Honour" by the Guards comprising of girl NCC Cadets.
The Defence Secretary was welcomed by Brigadier DS Rawat, Group Commander, NCC Group HQ Vadodara. The Defence Secretary then addressed the gathering and spoke about NCC being the largest organization comprising of uniformed, motivated, trained and purposeful youth of India. He mentioned that NCC is a mission for youth movement in the country which is rendering a great service to the nation by inculcating the spirit of secularism, national integration and selfless service.
Dr. Ajay Kumar highlighted that NCC, since its inception, has been in the forefront of developing character, leadership, comradeship, discipline, spirit of adventure and ideals of selfless service amongst young citizens of the country and has played a vital role in development of the country's youth, who represent hope for the future and are an invaluable asset to the Nation.
The Defence Secretary appreciated the yeoman and effortless service towards their fellow being done by the cadets of NCC Directorate Gujarat, Dadra Naga Haveli, Daman and Diu, under the able guidance of Major General Arvind Kapoor, Additional Director General during Exercise Yogdan, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, Blood Donation and spreading awareness about COVID-19 in the twitter campaign #EkMaiSauKeLiye. Recently, #PuneetSagar Abhiyan and Nadi Utsav Abhiyan were launched and cadets of NCC Directorate Gujarat, Dadra Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu have played a major part in cleaning beaches and river banks of plastic waste and spreading awareness about pollution.
The Defence Secretary said that it was heartening to note that even in the time of the pandemic, the NCC Directorate has successfully completed seven phases of #EkMaiSauKeLiye, which is a social service and community development activity. This achievement was appreciated and accredited by the World Book of Records, London and they conferred "Certificate of Commitment" the Directorate. On Twitter, the campaign #EkMaiSauKeLiye has gained highest visibility which itself describes that the Campaign has been most popular in spreading awareness across the country. He also complimented the Directorate for the maximum number of followers on twitter amongst all the 17 Directorates. He also highlighted that the recent initiatives of Digital Forum and the NCC Alumni Association will definitely take the NCC to new heights.
The Defence Secretary also applauded the efforts of the Directorate for ensuring high standards of training and improvements in the training infrastructure which will bear rich dividends in the future.
He concluded by reiterating that we must rededicate ourselves and pledge to live by the NCC motto "Unity and Discipline" and extended best wishes to all the Officers, Staff and the NCC Cadets.