Ahead of India's 73rd Independence Day on Thursday, President Ram Nath Kovind will address the nation in a televised programme on Wednesday evening.

The address will be broadcast from 7 pm on Doordarshan as well as All India Radio in Hindi followed by English. Defence minister Rajnath Singh will also deliver a message to the nation at 6.15 pm.

Following the tradition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hoist the national flag at Red Fort on Thursday morning followed by an address to the nation from the Mughal-era fort in New Delhi.

The capital is placed under multi-layered security ahead of the celebrations. Security has been tightened in New Delhi as well as in the newly-formed union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh after the Modi government abrogated Article 370 and Article 35A that stripped the northern region of its statehood and bifurcated it into two entities.

They abrogation also stripped Jammu and Kashmir of the special privileges accorded by the Indian Constitution. Tensions with Pakistan have also ramped up in the aftermath of the government's move.

The multi-layered security ring, including National Security Guard (NSG) snipers, elite SWAT commandos and kite catchers, will be placed around the Red Fort.

The Delhi Police will be using cameras equipped with a facial recognition software to identify suspects around the Red Fort and its adjoining areas. Around 20,000 Delhi Police personnel from the traffic wing and paramilitary forces have also been deployed in the capital region.

The police has already blocked any kind of aerial activities, including unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned aircraft systems and paragliders, until August 15 in enhanced security measures.