342 Cadets Commissioned as Army Officers at Chennai OTA Parade
342 cadets, including 17 from friendly foreign nations, were commissioned as Army officers at OTA Chennai on Saturday.
The Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai held its Passing Out Parade on Saturday, commissioning 342 cadets as Lieutenants in the Indian Army. The parade was reviewed by Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, Chief of the Naval Staff, at the Parameswaran Drill Square.
Among those commissioned was Lt. Stanzin Tsangyang, a 24-year-old engineering graduate from Zanskar district, Ladakh. Her parents, homemaker Rigzin Ladol and retired teacher Tundup Tsering, attended the ceremony. Lt. Tsangyang, who was drawn to the Army through NCC and sports during college, is the first in her family to join the force.
Lt. Ritika Dubey from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, also became the first in her family to enter the Armed Forces. In contrast, Lieutenants Mohit Arora, Prashant Gurung, and M.R. Raswanth continued their families' legacy of military service. The parade also saw 17 cadets from Bhutan, Eswatini, Lesotho, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe complete their training.
In his address, Admiral Swaminathan described courage as a muscle that strengthens with use, built through daily choices rather than summoned during crises. He noted that while warfare's character evolves, it remains a fundamentally human endeavour, with outcomes determined by those who fight and lead.
Awards presented during the ceremony included the Sword of Honour and Bronze Medal to Battalion Under Officer Gurkeerat Singh Hora, the OTA Gold Medal to Academy Under Officer Abhinab Chauhan, and the Silver Medal to Academy Cadet Adjutant Niket Singh Tomar.