Grand Finale of National School Band Competition Set for Republic Day Celebrations 2024 in New Delhi, Featuring 16 Teams Across Four Categories
The grand finale of National School Band Competition, jointly organised by Ministry of Defence & Ministry of Education as part of Republic Day celebrations, will be held at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi on January 21 & 22, 2024. A total of 16 band teams – four from each zone (East, West, South and North) – will vie for musical supremacy during the two-day event, which has been organised to popularise Indian music and tunes as envisioned by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. The competition will be held in four categories (Boys Brass Band, Girls Brass Band, Boys Pipe Band and Girls Pipe Band). The list of the 16 teams is given below:
| S No | School | Category |
| 1. | Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Residential School, Arugolanu, West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh |
Pipe Band Boys |
| 2. | Maharaja Agarsain Public School, Ashok Vihar, North Delhi | |
| 3. | Govt. Mizo High School, Aizawl, Mizoram | |
| 4. | PM SHRI School Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Suratgarh,Sriganganagar, Rajasthan | |
| 5. | St. Teresa’s Higher Secondary School, Kannur, Kerala |
Brass Band Girls |
| 6. | St. Xavier’s Higher Secondary School, Pathaliaghat, Sepahijala, Tirpura | |
| 7. | City Montessori School, Kanpur Road Campus, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh | |
| 8. | Carmel Convent Senior Secondary School, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh | |
| 9. | Queen Mary’s School, Tis Hazari, New Delhi |
Pipe Band Girls |
| 10. | Shri Swaminarayan Kanya Vidya Mandir, Bhuj, Gujarat | |
| 11. | Droupadi Girls High School, Nishaposi, Mayurbhanj, Odisha | |
| 12. | PM SHRI Kendriya Vidyalaya MEG & Centre, St. Johns Road Sivan Chetty Garden, Bengaluru, Karnataka | |
| 13. | DAV Public School, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh |
Brass Band Boys |
| 14. | Don Bosco High School & Junior College, Vikhroli, Mumbai, Maharashtra | |
| 15. | Amalorpavan Higher Secondary School, Vanarapet, Pondicherry, Puducherry | |
| 16. | Govt. Sr. Secondary School, West Point, Gangtok, Sikkim |
The top three teams in each category will be given a cash prize (1st – Rs 21,000. 2nd – Rs 16,000, 3rd – Rs 11,000), a trophy, as well as certificates. Consolation cash prize of Rs 3,000 each will be given to the remaining team in each category. The jury for the grand finale will be appointed by the Ministry of Defence including members from each wing of the Armed Forces.
The competition was organised at three levels viz. State, Zonal and conducted by all the States/Union Territories for all schools (CBSE, ICSE, KVS, NVS, and Sainik schools etc). 486 teams comprising of 12,857 children participated at State-Level Competition, while at the Zonal Level, 73 teams comprising 2,002 children took part. This initiative aims to rejuvenate the spirit of patriotism and unity amongst children in schools throughout the country and motivate them on the path of holistic education.