PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU (DEFENCE WING)GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
Secunderabad :-To mark the successful culmination of the training of 168 Flight Cadets of Flying and Ground Duty branches of the Indian Air Force, a Combined Graduation Parade (CGP) of the No. 210 course was held at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal, Hyderabad on 17 December 2022. Air Chief Marshal Shaikh Abdul Hannan, Chief of the Air Staff, Bangladesh Air Force was the Reviewing Officer (RO) of the parade. The presence of Air Chief Marshal Shaikh Abdul Hannan underlined the strong bilateral ties between India and Bangladesh and made this CGP unique as it is the first instance when the parade was reviewed by a Foreign Service Chief.
During the CGP, the graduating Flight Cadets were conferred with the ‘President’s Commission’. On this occasion, 06 officers from the Indian Navy and 09 officers from the Indian Coast Guard were also awarded ‘Wings’ on the successful completion of their flying training at the Air Force Academy. 
The RO was received by Air Marshal Manavendra Singh, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Training Command and Air Marshal B Chandra Sekhar, Commandant, Air Force Academy. The highlight of the parade was the ‘Pipping Ceremony’ in which the graduating Flight Cadets were awarded the Flying Officer’s ‘Stripes’ by the RO, following which they were administered the ‘Oath’ by the Commandant of the Academy. The CGP also had fly-past by formations of Chetak, Pilatus PC-7, Kiran and Hawk aircraft, a skydiving display by Akashganga team and aerobatic display by Pilatus PC-7, Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team and Sarang helicopter team.
After the ‘Pipping Ceremony’, the RO presented awards to the Flying Officers who had excelled in various disciplines of training. Flying Officer Ashutosh Narayan Paliwal of the Flying branch was awarded the President’s Plaque and the Chief of the Air Staff ‘Sword of Honour’ for standing first in the overall order of merit in the Pilots’ Course. Flying Officer Akansha Kharb was awarded the President’s Plaque for being first in the overall order of merit in the Ground Duty branches. Flying Officer Shelar Mayuresh Sanjay was awarded the President’s Plaque for being first in the Navigation branch. 
The RO congratulated the graduating officers for the successful completion of their training at the Academy and expressed his heartfelt congratulations to their proud parents for the induction of newly commissioned officers into one of the finest Air Forces in the World. He also congratulated those who earned their coveted wings and those who have been awarded winning trophies for their excellent performance during training. 
He appreciated that IAF is keeping pace with changing environment and has improvised the training curriculum to train resilient, dynamic and field-ready officers. He was impressed by the uniqueness of the Air Force Academy for one of its kind institution where Officer Trainees of all branches of the Indian Air Force, Sister Services and Officers from Friendly Foreign Countries train together. 
The Bangladesh Air Force Chief in his address highlighted that India and Bangladesh have an umbilical connection. This connection has been more profound since Bangladesh Liberation war in 1971. He recalled the invaluable contribution of India as a whole and Indian Air Force in particular during the 1971 war of liberation. Bangladesh Air Force was born on the soil of this beautiful country, at Dimapur, on September 28, 1971. With this heritage, today both countries have an understanding of mutual trust and respect. Both the countries have a significant role to play in ensuring the security of the region, and our Defence forces conduct regular joint exercises to ensure that we have synergy in our effort. 
The ceremony culminated with the newly commissioned officers marching-out, in slow march, to the traditional notes of ‘Anandaloke’ by Rabindranath Tagore.
