Droupadi Murmu takes oath as India's 15th President

New Delhi: Droupadi Murmu was on Monday sworn in as India's 15th President at an impressive ceremony in the packed and historic Central Hall of Parliament.

Hailing from the Santhal community, Murmu is the first tribal leader to assume the office of the President.

Chief Justice of India N V Ramana administered the oath of office to Murmu in the presence of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union ministers, governors, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and a host of dignitaries.

Former President Pratibha Patil, and Chief Ministers Naveen Patnaik, Eknath Shinde, Jairam Thakur, Yogi Adityanath and N Biren Singh were among the dignitaries present.

Dressed in a white saree with green and red border, Murmu took the oath of office in the name of God in Hindi to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law".

Murmu was given a 21-gun salute after which she signed the oath register amid a thunderous applause and thumping of desks.

The oath-taking ceremony was marked by pomp and grandeur, and began with the arrival of outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind and Murmu in a procession from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to the Parliament Building.

After the short ceremony, Murmu and Kovind were escorted out of the Central Hall amid the roll of drums and blowing of trumpets.

After a national salute by the President's Bodyguard at Gate No 5 of the Parliament, the new President and her predecessor left in a ceremonial procession to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

At the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the new President inspected the tri-services guard of honour.

Earlier, outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind escorted his successor Droupadi Murmu from the Rashtrapati Bhawan to Parliament House for the oath-taking ceremony in a presidential limousine.

President Kovind and President-elect Murmu walked down the 31 majestic steps of the Rashtrapati Bhawan to the saluting dais where they took the presidential salute.

The president's bodyguards rendered the national anthem after which the two were taken in the presidential limousine which moved out of the Rashtrapati Bhavan through the iron gates escorted by the President’s bodyguard towards Parliament House for the formal swearing-in ceremony.

At the steps of the Gate No. 5 of Parliament House, the President was given a national salute by the President's bodyguards with the President-elect standing by his side.

Accompanying them were Chief Justice of India N V Ramana, the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha M Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

They walked in a procession to the Central Hall of Parliament where they were welcomed to a roll of drums, which indicates the arrival of the president.