The President of Suriname will be the chief guest for India's Republic Day parade 2021.

No foreign chief guest or government official will take part in India’s Republic Day parade 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

No foreign chief guest or government official will take part in India’s Republic Day parade 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.India will be celebrating its 72nd Republic day parade without a Chief Guest after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson canceled his visit due to a surge of COVID-19 infections in the UK. This is the fourth time this has happened since independence.

Several social media posts and media reports claimed that the President of Suriname, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, would be the next expected chief guest for the Republic day event. However, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava, at a media briefing, said that there wouldn’t be a foreign head of state or government as the chief guest for this years' Republic Day parade due to the global COVID-19 situation.

The parade day will also witness other changes like fewer participants in the marching squads and cut off in the distance of the parade.