New Delhi: India will celebrate its 72nd Republic Day on Tuesday this year. Republic Day honors the date on which the Indian constitution came into effect on January 26, 1950.

On Republic Day, a grand parade is organized at the Rajpath in New Delhi to showcase the country's defense capabilities, diversity, and rich cultural heritage. The grand parade begins from the gates of the Rashtrapati Bhavan and ends at India Gate.

However, the Republic Day parade this year will be slightly different with a few new additions and subtractions because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The parade will reportedly begin from Vijay Chowk and end at National Stadium, covering a distance of just 3.3 kilometers instead of 8.2 kilometers.

Looking at the pandemic, the security officials will only allow 25,000 spectators to witness the Republic Day parade.

Here’s a list of what will be missing from this year’s Republic Day parade:

• Here it is noteworthy to mention that people with co-morbidities and children below 15 won't be allowed as spectators at the India Gate lawns.

• This will be the first R-Day parade without a chief guest in more than five decades with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson not coming to India. Johnson, who had initially accepted India’s invitation, had to cancel his visit due to the rapid rise of Covid-19 cases in the United Kingdom. India didn’t have a chief guest for the parade in 1952, 1953, and 1966 before this.

• The number of spectators has been reduced to 25,000 from 150,000 allowed last year. The number of media persons, too, has been cut from 300 to 200.

• The parade, unlike previous years, will go only till the National Stadium at the C-Hexagon of India Gate. Only the tableaux will go to the Red Fort.

• The events that have been canceled altogether include the veterans’ parade by ex-servicemen and women, as well as motorcycle stunts by troops of the army and the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel.

• Also, there will be no enclosure for schoolchildren this year.