Today marks the 77th year since the National Cadet Corps (NCC) of independent India was inaugurated. The NCC was inaugurated to develop character, comradeship, ideals of service and capacity for leadership in the youth of the country. It also aims to stimulate interest in the defence of the country by providing service training to youth and building up a reserve to enable the Armed Forces to expand rapidly in a national emergency.

Akashvani Correspondent reports that after independence, the present-day NCC under the Ministry of Defence came into existence on 16 Apr 1948 through the NCC Act. The NCC was formally inaugurated on 15 July 1948 as soon as the schools and colleges reopened after summer vacation. Furthermore, the Girls Division of the NCC was started in July 1949, which was followed by the addition of the Air Wing in 1950 with one Air squadron each at Bombay and Kolkata and the Naval Wing of the NCC in 1952, completing the true representation of all services in the Corps. As the NCC completes its 77 years since independence, it aims to fulfil the need to create a youth organisation at the National Level to train young boys and girls to be better citizens and future leaders of the country in all walks of life, including the defence forces.