India GORepublic Day in Delhi
The day a billion people celebrate one constitution
The one state occasion in India that behaves like a bookable event: the Ministry of Defence sells numbered-enclosure tickets on its own portal for a fixed ten-day window in early January, and the same parade runs as a free-pass Full Dress Rehearsal three days earlier.
Where to watch
Kartavya Path spectator enclosures: the parade itself. Enclosures are named after rivers and split across the two sides of the avenue. South of Kartavya Path: Beas, Brahmaputra, Chambal, Chenab, Sindhu, Jhelum, Gandak, Ganga, Ghaghra, Godavari. North of Kartavya Path: Kaveri, Kosi, Krishna, Mahanadi, Narmada, Pennar, Periyar, Ravi, Sone, Sutlej, Teesta, Vaigai, Yamuna. The enclosure name printed on the ticket decides which side of the avenue you enter from and which alighting point and approach apply; the Ministry of Defence publishes the seating layout and the arrival, alighting and parking plan on rashtraparv.mod.gov.in before the day.
Vijay Chowk: the parade steps off here on 26 January, and the Beating Retreat is held here on 29 January. The Beating Retreat is ticketed, in the same sale window as the parade.
Tilak Marg, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and Netaji Subhash Marg: the second half of the parade route, after the C-Hexagon, running to the Red Fort. Traffic is diverted from 10:30; barricading and police direction decide where standing is permitted on the day.
aamantran.mod.gov.in: the Ministry of Defence ticketing portal and app, the only official sale channel. Registration by mobile number with OTP, then a government photo ID; carry the same ID to the ceremony.
rashtraparv.mod.gov.in: the Ministry of Defence information portal for national events, with the seating layout, the arrival and parking plan, the route map, the programme and the do's and don'ts for each year's Republic Day, Beating Retreat and Independence Day. Open, no registration.
🎟 Free viewing
- The second half of the route after the C-Hexagon, along Tilak Marg, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and Netaji Subhash Marg toward the Red Fort, where traffic is diverted from 10:30 and no ticket governs the roadside. Barricading and police direction decide where standing is permitted on the day, and the contingents pass rather than halt here.
- The Full Dress Rehearsal three days earlier is the same parade on a free pass, which is the nearest thing to a free seat at the event itself.
🗓 Programme
Ticket sale opens
Sale of tickets for the Republic Day Parade, the Beating Retreat Full Dress Rehearsal and the Beating Retreat opens. Sale runs each day from 09:00 until that day's quota is exhausted, so the quota is the constraint rather than the closing date.
Online at www.aamantran.mod.gov.in, and at six staffed counters in New Delhi
Ticket sale opens
Counter purchase requires an original photo ID: Aadhaar, Voter ID, Driving Licence, PAN card, Passport, or an ID issued by the central or a state government. The same photo ID must then be carried to the ceremony itself.
The six ticket counters
Free passes for the Full Dress Rehearsal
Free passes for the Full Dress Rehearsal of the Republic Day parade are issued through the same Aamantran portal and app. These are free of cost, unlike the parade tickets.
www.aamantran.mod.gov.in and the Aamantran app
Full Dress Rehearsal
The complete parade is run at Kartavya Path as a full dress rehearsal, with the marching contingents, the tableaux and the Air Force display flown in sequence. The crowd is a fraction of the 26 January crowd and the pass is free.
Kartavya Path, New Delhi
Republic Day, 26 January
Delhi Metro begins services on all lines at 03:00 on Republic Day, running at fifteen-minute intervals until 06:00, after which the regular timetable resumes. Parking is not available near the venue and the ticket carries a free metro QR coupon, so the metro is the intended approach.
All Delhi Metro lines; the Kartavya Path enclosures are reached on foot from the nearest open stations
Republic Day, 26 January
Gates to the spectator enclosures open. Seating inside an enclosure is first come, first served, and entry to an enclosure closes as and when that enclosure fills. Late arrivals may not be admitted even holding a valid ticket.
The numbered enclosure named on the ticket, along Kartavya Path
Republic Day, 26 January
The C-Hexagon around India Gate closes to traffic. Kartavya Path between Vijay Chowk and India Gate cannot be crossed until about 14:00.
C-Hexagon, India Gate; Kartavya Path
Republic Day, 26 January
The parade steps off from Vijay Chowk and moves along Kartavya Path, around the C-Hexagon at India Gate, then onto Tilak Marg, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and Netaji Subhash Marg, ending at the Red Fort.
Vijay Chowk to the Red Fort
Beating Retreat, Full Dress Rehearsal
The full dress rehearsal of the Beating Retreat ceremony, ticketed at twenty rupees.
Vijay Chowk, New Delhi
Beating Retreat
The Beating Retreat ceremony closes the Republic Day sequence, with massed bands of the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Central Armed Police Forces, around thirty performances, ending with the buglers playing Sare Jahan Se Achha.
Vijay Chowk, New Delhi