As many as 333 officers joined the Indian Army on Saturday after the Passing Out Parade at the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun.

Notably, due to COVID-19 pandemic, for the first time guardians of the cadets were not invited in order to avoid crowding.

Wearing a face mask, Army Chief General M M Naravane reviewed the Passing Out Parade of 423 officers including 90 Gentleman Cadets from nine friendly foreign countries.

The officers were also seen donning face masks at the parade.

The parents or relatives of cadets usually pip-in the ranks on the shoulders of cadets after the passing out parade, they become commissioned officers in the Indian Army.

Adjusting to the situation, the academy also made arrangements for broadcasting the parade on social media so that the families can see their wards getting commissioned.

Due to the coronavirus threat, the cadets would also not get an opportunity to go on leave before joining their respective units.

The Commandant's parade was held at the Indian Military Academy (IMA) on Thursday which marked the culmination of training of 333 Indian and 90 Gentlemen Cadets from nine foreign countries.

Owing to COVID-19 precautionary guidelines, only the IMA staff and other the trainees witnessed the parade on June 11.

The passing out parade symbolises the culmination of rigorous training and transformation of a cadet into a young officer to shoulder the nation's responsibility.

Every six months, the IMA organises a passing out parade for its cadets who join different arms and services of the Indian Army while the foreign cadets go onto join the armies in their respective countries. -- ANI 

The Municipal Corporation Doctors' Association (MCDA) also wrote to Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal, seeking his intervention on the issue.

A copy of the letter has also been marked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.  

The resident doctors at the North Delhi Municipal Corporation's 450-bedded Kasturba Hospital and Hindu Rao Hospital have claimed that they have not been paid salary since March.

Many doctors and other staff have tested positive for COVID-19 till date at both hospitals.

Doctors of the NDMC are putting their lives and their family members in danger every day, MCDA president Dr R R Gautam said.

"Being the frontline COVID health care workers, they should be paid their due salaries," he said.  

'Our association fully and unconditionally support the reasonable demands of the resident doctors' associations, and have further decided that if the salaries of the three months of all doctors are not paid in a week, then we may also be forced to resign en masse from our government services,' the letter said.  

In the letter, the MCDA said if not that, 'then we may be granted permission to take VRS on a mass level'.

The resident doctors of colonial-era Kasturba Hospital on Wednesday had threatened to resign en masse if their demand was not met by the authorities.

The Delhi high court on Thursday initiated a public interest litigation on the issue.

Jai Prakash, chairman of the standing committee of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, which runs both hospitals said, "The matter is being resolved".

"Representatives of the RDAs of the two hospitals met me on Thursday. We have assured them that we will try to pay their due salaries, if not at once, for one month right now, and then slowly for subsequent months," he said.

"We have explained to them that the MCD is not getting revenues in this coronavirus situation, so they must consider our constraint too," Prakash said.   -- PTI