Chandigarh, December 18

In a ceremony held at Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute, Mohali, 25 of its alumni, who joined the National Defence Academy (NDA) and Indian Military Academy (IMA) this year, were honoured and presented “Achiever Awards” today.

Air Marshal GP Singh (retd), who was the chief guest, appreciated the enthusiasm displayed by cadets and expressed happiness at the outstanding results attained by the institute. He advised the cadets to continue to work hard.

Congratulating the cadets and their parents, Maj Gen BS Grewal (retd), Director, AFPI, expressed hope that the cadets currently under training at the institute would take inspiration from the performance of their seniors and strive to emulate their results. He also spoke about the new venture being undertaken by the AFPI for training students in selected schools under a scheme called Cadet Training Wings, where trainers from the AFPI would visit such schools and train students to join the Armed Forces. He said the Punjab Government was planning to open another AFPI at Hoshiarpur in the near future.

Special prizes were given to cadets who excelled in various fields. The academics trophy was won by Manraj Singh; the best officer-like qualities trophy was won by Bimalroop Singh and the sports trophy was bagged by Kushal Sharma. The best all round cadet of the seventh course was Harshit Bakshi.

The AFPI has been set up by the Punjab Government to train selected boys for a commission in the Armed Forces through the NDA. The institute commenced training in 2011 and its first batch completed its training in 2013. From June 2013 to date, the institute has been successful in sending 134 cadets to the NDA and other service academies. — TNS