Twitter launches new emoji to celebrate Republic Day

As Indians across the world gear up to celebrate the 72nd Republic Day, Twitter announced the launch of a specially dedicated emoji to mark this momentous occasion. The unique emoji design depicts the Indian Air Force (IAF) fly past in the Indian tri-colours. The flypast soars the skies as part of the Republic Day celebrations each year.

New Delhi: "With COVID-19 restrictions in place, we needed to find a way to bring the parade to the virtual public square. This year's emoji is not only a special tribute to the fly past - the showstopper of the parade each year - it is a way of bringing people together in the spirit of celebration," Payal Kamat, Public Policy, Twitter India said in a statement.

President Ramnath Kovind will tweet with the emoji, calling upon Indians in the country and across the world to revel in the celebrations and sentiments of national pride and unity.

The IAF too will tweet out the emoji and urge citizens to use the hashtag #TouchTheSkies and show their respect to men and women in Blue as they soar the skies on Republic Day.

The emoji will be live until 30 January and will be available in English as well as ten Indian languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, Kannada, Punjabi. Marathi, Malayalam, Bengali, Telugu, Gujarati.

This is the sixth year Twitter has supported Republic Day in India with a dedicated emoji. Previously, the service has added zing to the Republic Day conversations with emojis representing the map of India, Indian tricolor, India Gate, Ashoka Chakra, and a tricolor symbol of India Gate.