Always strive to contribute towards development of all sections of society: President Murmu

New Delhi, Jul 25 (PTI) President Droupadi Murmu, who completed two years in office on Thursday, said she always strives to contribute to the development of all sections of society, especially the deprived and backward classes.

She said that in the last two years, many such decisions have been taken which have increased the engagement of common people with the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

“As she completes the second year of her term, President Droupadi Murmu donned the role of a teacher that she once was. In her brief yet lively interaction with Class 9 students of Dr Rajendra Prasad Kendriya Vidyalaya in the President’s Estate, she imparted lessons on nature conservation and climate change,” a statement issued by the President’s office said.

Recalling the time when she was of their age, Murmu shared her experiences of caring for plants and animals.

The students responded with enthusiasm and offered many suggestions too, the statement said.

Born on June 20, 1958 at the Uparbeda village in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, Murmu was sworn in as the country’s 15th president on July 25, 2022.

Before taking over the top constitutional office, she was the governor of Jharkhand from 2015 to 2021.

She also participated in other important initiatives undertaken in the President’s Estate during the day.

In her short remarks on the occasion of launching various digital initiatives, the president appreciated the digitisation work done in the Rashtrapati Bhavan and said that it will increase convenience, speed, transparency and accountability.

The president said, “We should always strive to contribute to the development of all sections of society, especially the deprived and backward classes”.

Murmu inaugurated redeveloped Shiva temple and visited Pranab Mukherjee Public Library where she interacted with students and viewed the digitised versions of old and rare books of the Rashtrapati Bhavan library.

She also inaugurated a Skill India Centre in the presence of Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Jayant Chaudhary.

The president inaugurated a cricket pavilion at the sports ground of Dr Rajendra Prasad Kendriya Vidyalaya, synthetic and grass tennis courts and launched “e-Upahaar, RB app, e-book – compilation of glimpses of past one year of presidency” and other digital initiatives at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the statement said.

The 24-page e-book mentions different aspects of her presidency in the last one year.

In a chapter titled “Leading By Example”, it said the president “joined people in the queue and cast her vote at the polling station for the General Elections – 2024”, “made digital payment for items purchased from a shop in Shimla” and “played badminton with Ms Saina Nehwal to inspire children to take up sports for a healthy lifestyle”.

She also interacted with people during visits to states and Union Territories, walked down the Mall Road of Shimla and was greeted enthusiastically by the crowd and took a ride in the Delhi Metro and met school children, said the chapter named “Among The People”

In another chapter titled “Special Connects with Tribals”, the e-book said Murmu interacted with local tribal communities, particularly vulnerable tribal groups and interacted with women founders of some startups.

President Murmu also made Rashtrapati Bhavan more open and accessible.

“More than 1.6 lakh people visited the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Over 3 lakh people visited the Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum. Over 11 lakh people visited the Amrit Udyan,” it said.

She also visited Mauritius and participated in the Mauritian National Day celebrations as the chief guest and hosted the heads of delegates of G20 nations, guest countries and international organisations at Bharat Mandapam for the G20 Summit gala dinner, reads another chapter titled “Global Bonds”.