The 138th course of the National Defence Academy (NDA) successfully passed out on Saturday at a ceremony conducted in the premier institution”s Habibullah Hall in Pune district in Maharashtra.NDA Commandant Lieutenant General Asit Mistry presided over the function, attended only by cadets and limited number of faculty members in view of the coronavirus outbreak, said a defence release.A total of 335 cadets, comprising 226 from the Army, 44 from the Navy and 65 from the Air Force, graduated from the academy.

These include 20 cadets from friendly countries like Bhutan, Tajikistan, Maldives, Vietnam, Tanzania, Mauritius, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Turkmenistan, Fiji, Uzbekistan, Sudan, Mongolia and Bangladesh, it added. Battalion Cadet Captain Shivam Kumar won President”s Gold Medal for standing first in overall order of merit, while Battalion Cadet Captain Mukesh Kumar won President”s Silver Medal and Battalion Cadet Captain Parth Gupta the President”s Bronze Medal.

The ”Kilo” squadron bagged the prestigious ”Chiefs of Staff Banner” for being the “champion squadron”.While traditionally, parents of passing out cadets are invited and accommodated in the Academy for about three days to witness various facets of the training, the ritual was given a break to this time due to the pandemic.