India - January 21, 2026

Republic Day 2026: National School Band Competition culminates at Zonal level

team maverick January 21, 2026

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16 selected teams to perform in grand finale at National Bal Bhavan, New Delhi

The National School Band Competition, as part of the Republic Day Celebrations 2026, has culminated at the Zonal level, with 16 teams being shortlisted to perform in the grand finale at the National Bal Bhavan, New Delhi on January 24, 2026. The 16 teams – four from each zone (East, West, North & South) in Brass Band Boys, Brass Band Girls, Pipe Band Boys and Pipe Band Girls categories, will compete in the grand finale, organised to rejuvenate and rekindle the spirit of patriotism and unity among school children throughout the country. The list of 16 teams shortlisted as finalists is as under:

S No	Schools	State/UT	Zone
Brass Band Boys
1.	St Xavier’s High School, Lupungutu, Chaibasa, West Singhbhum	Jharkhand	East
2.	Sanjivini Sainik School & Junior College, Kopargaon, Distt-Ahilyanagar	Maharashtra	West
3.	City Montessori School, Kanpur Road LDA, Lucknow	Uttar Pradesh	North
4.	PM SHRI Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Periye, Kasaragod	Kerala	South
Brass Band Girls
1.	Holly Cross High School, Karbook, Gomati	Tripura	East
2.	Don Bosco High School & Junior College, Tagore Nagar, Vikhroli East, Mumbai	Maharashtra	West
3.	St. Joseph College, Ruchi Khand-1, Shardanagar, Aashiyana, Lucknow	Uttar Pradesh	North
4.	Providence Girls Higher Secondary School, Kozhikode	Kerala	South
Pipe Band Boys
1.	Kairali School, Sec-2, HEC Township, Ranchi	Jharkhand	East
2.	Shree Swami Narayan Gurukul Kumar Vidyalaya Gir Somnath	Gujarat	West
3.	Government Boys Sr. Secondary School, Badli	Delhi	North
4.	The Great India Sainik School, Godhi Mandir Hasaud, Bhansoj Road, Nawagaon, Raipur	Chhattisgarh	South
Pipe Band Girls
1.	Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, Kanke, Ranchi	Jharkhand	East
2.	PM SHRI Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Suratgarh, Sriganga Nagar	Rajasthan	West
3.	Government Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Raj Nagar Part-II Extn, Palam Colony	Delhi	North
4.	PM SHRI Kendriya Vidyalaya, ASC Centre, Bangalore	Karnataka	South

The top three teams in each category will be given a cash prize (1^st – Rs 51,000/-, 2^nd – Rs 31,000/-, 3^rd – Rs 21,000/-), a trophy, as well as certificates. Consolation cash prize of Rs 11,000/- will be given to remaining team in each category. Their performances will be evaluated by the Jury appointed by Ministry of Defence including members from each wing of the Armed forces (Army, Navy and Air Force).

The Competition is being jointly conducted by the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Education. The first level was conducted by all States/Union Territories (UTs) including schools from CBSE, ICSE, KVS, NVS, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Awasiya Vidyalaya, PM-SHRI and Sainik schools etc.

Four winner band groups from each State in each category participated in the Zonal level competition. Building on the success from last year’s competition, the enthusiasm and level of participation scaled up significantly this year. 763 school band teams participated at the State level, out of which 94 school band teams were shortlisted for the Zonal level. In the Zonal level competition, 80 school band teams from 30 States/UTs comprising of 2,217 children participated.