Dehradun, June 8: A total of 382 Indian cadets joined the Army following the passing out parade (POP) at the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun on Saturday. The maximum among them, 72, are from India's most populous state - Uttar Pradesh. Bihar trails second with 46, followed by Haryana (40) and Punjab (33).

Apart from the 382 Indian trainee soldiers, 77 foreign cadets have also successfully passed out from the IMA this year, bringing the overall total of gentleman cadets to 453. Among the foreign cadets, maximum are from Afghanistan (45), followed by Bhutan (15) and 9 from Tajikistan. Young military officers of six other friendly countries - Maldives, Fiji, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Lesotho also passed out. Highlights of IMA 2018 Passing Out Parade.

The coveted 'Sword of Honour' has been awarded to Akshat Raj, whereas, Surendra Singh Bisht was announced as the gold medalist. Among the foreign cadets, the gold medal was bagged by Shirzad Sarbaaz of Afghanistan.

IMA Commandant Lt General SK Jha, ahead of the passing out parade, stressed on the importance of competitiveness in the armed forces. An Army officer, he said, should always maintain a competitive streak while also adhering to the standards of highest fair play. The passing out cadet should have the zeal for excellence and hassle-free team work.

The POP or passing out parade was held in Dehradun between 5am to 11am today. Traffic was diverted from Panditwari to Prem Nagar, and part of the vehicular movement on National Highway-72 was re-routed from Premnagar and Ballupur in view of the parade.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 08, 2019 11:09 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).