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PM Modi wishes Pranab on his 79th b'day

by IBNS 10 Dec 2014, 07:50 pm

New Delhi, Dec 11 (IBNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday wished President Pranab Mukherjee on his 79th birthday.

"Warmest birthday greetings to our dear Rashtrapati ji, Shri Pranab Mukherjee.May he remain in the best of health & lead a long life," Modi tweeted.

Praising Mukherjee, the PM posted: "It takes just one interaction with Pranab Da to marvel at his intellect, sharp mind, deep knowledge & insight on a wide range of issues."

"Pranab Da has given his life to India. Few people can match his political experience & stature. We are honoured to have a President like him," he wrote.

On his 79th birthday, the President will launch a number of new initiatives.

He will unveil a number of infrastructure and educational programmes for the benefit of the residents of the President's Estate.

"Samagam, a community initiative for Senior citizens residing in the President’s Estate which will offer an opportunity for all Senior citizens to get together on a daily basis and have free health check-ups, participate in recreation activities, etc," President's Secretariat said in a statement.

"An Electronic Art Catalogue containing over 113 high quality photographs of paintings and select art objects in the collection of RashtrapatiBhavan will be added to the President of India website. Through this initiative, the RashtrapatiBhavan is opening to people from across the world for the first time a cross section of the entire art collection of RashtrapatiBhavan," it stated.

Foundation Stone will also be laid for a Housing Complex comprising Type II/III houses for staff. This complex will be built at G. Point, near Dr. RML Hospital. It will comprise two ten storey residential towers of a total of 72 houses.

With a view to reducing the use of motorized vehicles within the President’s Estate, 50 cycles will be made available at 4 locations in the Estate to promote fitness and health amongst residents of President’s Estate and to create awareness about environment issues. 

Mukherjee is the 13th President of India, who assumed office since July 2012. 

In a political career spanning six decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader of the Indian National Congress and occupied several ministerial portfolios in the Government of India. 

Prior to his election as President, Mukherjee was Union Finance Minister from 2009 to 2012, and the Congress party's top troubleshooter.