As India gears up for its 77th Republic Day in 2026, the National School Band Competition has reached a thrilling climax at the zonal stage. Sixteen outstanding school bands, four from each zone, are now headed to the grand finale at National Bal Bhavan in Delhi on January 24.
The competition spans four zones and four categories: Brass Band Boys, Brass Band Girls, Pipe Band Boys, and Pipe Band Girls. This initiative by the government seeks to foster national pride and discipline through music among the younger generation.
East Zone’s Brass Band Boys representative is St. Xavier’s High School, West Singhbhum, Jharkhand. West Zone picks Sanjivani Sainik School & Junior College, Ahilyanagar, Maharashtra. North Zone’s City Montessori School, Lucknow, and South Zone’s PM Shri Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Kasaragod, Kerala, complete the lineup.
Girls’ Brass Bands include Holy Cross High School, Gomati, Tripura (East); Don Bosco High School & Junior College, Mumbai (West); St. Joseph’s College, Lucknow (North); and Providence Girls Higher Secondary School (South).
Pipe Band Boys qualifiers are Karali School, Ranchi (East); Shri Swami Narayan Gurukul Kumar Vidyalaya, Gir Somnath, Gujarat (West); Government Boys Senior Secondary School, Badli, Delhi (North); and The Great India Sainik School, Raipur, Chhattisgarh (South).
In Pipe Band Girls, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, Ranchi (East); PM Shri Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan (West); Government Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Palam Colony, Delhi (North); and PM Shri Kendriya Vidyalaya, Bengaluru (South) will vie for glory.
Prizes are generous: winners bag Rs 51,000, runners-up Rs 31,000, third place Rs 21,000, plus trophies and certs. Consolation prizes of Rs 11,000 await others. Defence Ministry-appointed jury members from all three armed forces branches will ensure fair judging.
This pan-India event, a collaboration between Defence and Education Ministries, began with state-level rounds involving diverse school boards. Over 763 teams started, 94 reached zonals, and 2,217 students from 80 teams across 30 states/UTs participated at zonals.
The surge in participation underscores the event’s growing appeal, setting the stage for an unforgettable Republic Day parade contribution.
