I have received much more from the country than what I have given, says President
New Delhi : Outgoing President Pranab Mukherjee spoke in an honest and straightforward way about diverse issues in his final address to the people of India as President. He said that the “soul of India resides in pluralism and tolerance. The President said financial inclusion was at the core of an equitable society and the poor must be empowered to ensure that the fruits of development reach the last person. “Power of non-violence has to be resurrected to build a compassionate and caring society,” he said.
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Under President Pranab Mukherjee, Rashtrapati Bhavan became a ‘Lok Bhavan’. Pranab Mukherjee’s term ends tomorrow with Ram Nath Kovind taking oath as the 14th President of India. Mukherjee, who had entered parliament first in 1969, said for the past 50 years of his public life, his passion has been the service of people of India.
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“Mahatma Gandhi saw India as an inclusive nation where every section lived in equality and moved forward unitedly in ever-widening thought and action. For us, the creation of an inclusive society has to be an article of faith,” the President added.
The President congratulated and extended a warm welcome to Shri Ram Nath Kovind, the President-Elect and wished him success and happiness in the years to come. The President called for collective action to meet environmental challenges and steps to elevate higher institutions of learning to “world-class levels”.
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The report “Conserving and Upgrading of the President’s Estate – Select Projects: The Mukherjee Years: 2012-2017” chronicles select conservation, preservation and development projects undertaken in the last five years by the President’s Secretariat. This covers 27 conservation and development works undertaken in the 13th Presidency. It details the steps taken for the conservation and restoration of several buildings in the President’s Estate and at “Ashiana” (The Presidential Retreat located at Dehradun).
‘Health Status and Age Assessment of the Trees of Rashtrapati Bhavan’ was conducted by the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun between July 2016 to June 2017 to determine the age of important trees as per requirement; to record pathological and entomological problems on the trees of Rashtrapati Bhavan and to identify trees having physiological and related stress including edaphic causes.