A passing-out parade was held on Saturday on the occasion of the commissioning of 142 male cadets and 30 female cadets at the Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai.

Sixteen men and two women from friendly foreign countries — Bhutan, Afghanistan and Fiji — also passed out.

The parade was reviewed by Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh, General Officer Commander-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Northern Command, who also presented the sword of honour and silver medal to Academy Under Officer (AUO) Siddharth Bhawnani, the gold medal to Academy Cadet Adjutant (ACA) Sandhya and the bronze medal to Battalion Under Officer (BUO) Noyonika Binda.

During his address, Lt. Gen. Singh complimented the cadets and staff of the Officers Training Academy on the excellent standards. He exhorted the cadets passing out to always adhere to the core values of the Indian Army, strive for excellence in all their endeavours and successfully meet the security challenges facing the nation.