President of India Droupadi Murmu has underlined the need of ensuring the progress of the underprivileged, the marginalised and the Economically Weaker Sections of the society.
Speaking at a civic reception programme organised in her honour at the Raj Bhawan in Bhubaneswar in Odisha a short while ago, the President said that the shift of focus to Swadeshi systems and products has caught the attention of the country’s young mass and the world at large.
She said, while India could spring a surprise on the entire world in terms of Covid 19 vaccination, it has also set an example for the world in sustaining the economy despite the pandemic. Throwing light on various facets of Odisha in particular and India in general, she described India as a cultural superpower.

Earlier at the reception, she was felicitated with a variety of mementos representing the rich cultural legacy of Odisha by the State Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal, Chief Minister Naven Pattnaik, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Justice Dr. S. Muralidharan, Chief Justice Of Odisha High Court, Speaker of Odisha Legislative Assembly Bikram Keshari Arukh and a cross section of the Odia luminaries.
The President arrived in Odisha Capital Bhubaneswar from Puri in the afternoon today to a rousing welcome. On her maiden two days’ visit to the state after assuming the topmost constitutional post of the country, President Ms. Murmu visited the Sri Jagannath Temple in Puri soon after she landed first in Bhubaneswar and then at the airstrip in Puri.
She was received and accompanied by Odisha Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal and Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan. She partook of the Mahaprasad at the Raj Bhawan at Puri before flying back to Bhubaneswar.
While in Puri, the President, in a rare gesture, walked down about two KM stretch of road to reach the deities in the Sri Jagannath Temple amidst people eagerly waiving at her, she was similarly greeted by thousands of people who dotted the entire stretch from the Bhubaneswar airport down to multiple places in the capital city she made brief stop-overs to pay tributes at the statues of some of the illustrious sons of the soil.
People anxiously waited to waive at her and to have a glimpse of their own President even as her carcade wheeled down the road amidst tight security. She was also equally magnanimous in responding to the love and affection of the people. Governor of Odisha will host a state banquet tonight at the Raj Bhawan in her honour.
Tomorrow, she is scheduled to visit a couple of high schools in the capital and then launch some projects of the Union Ministry of Education, before flying back to the Raisina Hills.