No foreign head of state or government as chief guest at R-Day this year: Sources

This year there will be no foreign head of state or government as the chief guest for the Republic Day event, sources said on Wednesday.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic continuing and the cases rising, this would be the second year in a row when there would be no foreign leader as the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations.

''This year there will not be a Foreign Head of State or Head of Government as the chief guest for our Republic Day event,'' a source said.

There would be no foreign leader as the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations, but a day later Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host the first India-Central Asia Summit in a virtual format on January 27. The summit will be held with the participation of the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.