Nearly 5,000 special guests from diverse backgrounds attended the 80th Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort, including women entrepreneurs, farmers, young innovators, sanitation workers, artisans, students, scientists and beneficiaries of various government schemes.
Published Date – 15 August 2026, 08:51 AM
New Delhi: Nearly 5,000 special guests from different walks of life, including women entrepreneurs, young innovators, farmers and beneficiaries of various government schemes, attended the 80th Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort on Saturday.
The invitees included International Yoga Day volunteers, women entrepreneurs under the PM Mudra Yojana, beneficiaries of schemes including NAMASTE, PM AJAY and SEED, and best-performing My Bharat volunteers.
Best-performing beneficiaries of PMAY(U), street vendors under PM SVANidhi, urban sanitation workers under the Swachh Bharat Mission, best-performing Delhi Metro workers, workers associated with Kartavya Path and Central Vista, and staff of government hospitals in Delhi were also part of the gathering.
The special guests also included young innovators under national innovation programmes, scientists in different fields, cab drivers of Bharat Taxi in Delhi, interns under the Prime Minister Internship Scheme, and best-performing start-ups supported under various government schemes.
Youth trained under the PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana, best-performing start-ups supported under Start-up India Seed Fund, PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana beneficiaries and artisans under PM Vishwakarma scheme, as well as beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan (PM-SYM) Yojana, were also invited.
Best-performing farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Kisan Samridhi Sah-Yojana (PM-MKSSY) and students from Delhi government schools who performed well in various quizzes and competitions were among the other invitees.
Adding cultural vibrancy, over 1,500 people from various states and Union territories dressed in traditional attire attended to witness the grand ceremony.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the 80th Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort here on August 15. The celebrations marked 150 years of the national song ‘Vande Mataram’. For the first time, ‘Vande Mataram’ was rendered at the Red Fort celebrations.
