NEW DELHI: Pratibha Patil was on Wednesday sworn in as the country's first woman President. She was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan at a function in the Central Hall of Parliament House in New Delhi.
The function was attended by a host of VVIPs, including outgoing President A P J Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman K Rahman Khan, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Union ministers, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, opposition leaders, governors, chief ministers and members of the diplomatic corps.
A 21-gun salute was accorded to Patil after she was sworn-in as the country's 13th President. She solemnly affirmed by the oath, which she took in English.
Shortly after she took oath as President, Pratibha Patil said she favoured a sustained economic growth that should be socially inclusive and called for empowering women.
"Our combined endeavour should be to ensure that the rate of economic growth is sustained and it is socially inclusive," she said in her address at the Central Hall of Parliament after she was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan.
She described herself as the Republic's first servant and said her sincere endeavour would be to live up to the high expectations of the people who chose to elect her as President.
Noting that India stood at the threshold of a new era of progress and was moving at an "historically unprecedented" rates of growth, Patil said "it should be our combined endeavour to sustain this growth and ensure that it is socially inclusive."
She said it should be ensured that every section of the society, particularly the weak and the disadvantaged are equal partners in an beneficiaries of the development process.
"We must also ensure that every region of the country participates in and benefits from the process of economic growth," Patil said.
The function was attended by a host of VVIPs, including outgoing President A P J Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman K Rahman Khan, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Union ministers, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, opposition leaders, governors, chief ministers and members of the diplomatic corps.
A 21-gun salute was accorded to Patil after she was sworn-in as the country's 13th President. She solemnly affirmed by the oath, which she took in English.
Shortly after she took oath as President, Pratibha Patil said she favoured a sustained economic growth that should be socially inclusive and called for empowering women.
"Our combined endeavour should be to ensure that the rate of economic growth is sustained and it is socially inclusive," she said in her address at the Central Hall of Parliament after she was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan.
She described herself as the Republic's first servant and said her sincere endeavour would be to live up to the high expectations of the people who chose to elect her as President.
Noting that India stood at the threshold of a new era of progress and was moving at an "historically unprecedented" rates of growth, Patil said "it should be our combined endeavour to sustain this growth and ensure that it is socially inclusive."
She said it should be ensured that every section of the society, particularly the weak and the disadvantaged are equal partners in an beneficiaries of the development process.
"We must also ensure that every region of the country participates in and benefits from the process of economic growth," Patil said.
Source: The Times Of India
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