DHAKA: India is celebrating its 66th Republic Day on Monday with US president Barack Obama as chief guest.

Four helicopters with the tricolour and the flags of the three services flew over a wet Rajpath as the Republic Day parade began this morning. US president Barack Obama is the chief guest at the invitation of India prime minister Narendra Modi.

Modi, in a multicoloured bandhej safa, paid homage to India’s martyrs at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate this morning, before arriving at Rajpath, where he received Obama and his wife Michelle.

A loud cheer went up as the US president alighted in the Delhi drizzle from his special car, called the beast. He is the first US president to be chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations.

President Obama is watching the display of India’s military might along with PM Modi and India president Pranab Mukherjee from a salute dais erected behind a special bullet-proof enclosure, amid unprecedented security.

A seven-layer ring of 50,000 security personnel, including 500 US Secret Service Agents, has been deployed. The Delhi Police, said sources, has been asked to check people wearing black caps and mufflers, after intelligence that Maoists might try to stage protests.

At Rajpath, there are 500 police officials trained in detecting suspicious movements in the public and among participants. They have been specifically trained to profile potential terrorists.

The Indian Air Force has said the flypast, a highlight of the parade, is still on, after concern that it might be cancelled due to bad weather. It has rained in Delhi all morning.

Three all-women marching contingents of the Army, Navy and the Air Force represent the theme of the parade, ‘Nari Shakti’ (woman power)’. Also, a display on the PM’s ‘Beti Bachao’, ‘Beti Padhao’ (Save the daughter and educate her) campaign will lead the Republic Day floats.

BDST: 1149 HRS, JAN 26, 2015