Droupadi Murmu was sworn-in as the 15th President of India on Monday. Chief Justice of India N V Ramana administered the oath to Ms Murmu.

She was sworn-in in the central hall of the parliament in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, S Jaishankar, Amit Shah, among others.

President Droupadi Murmu is the first tribal face and the second woman who will hold the country’s top constitutional position. The 64-year-old is the youngest President of the country. She is also the first President of India who is born after Independence.  

Ms Murmu joined politics in 1997 and was elected councilor in Rairangpur Notified Area Council of Odisha. She served twice as an MLA from Rairangpur assembly constituency from 2000 to 2009 and once as a Minister for Commerce, Transport, Fisheries, and Animal Resources Development in Odisha Government. 

On 18th May 2015, Ms Murmu took oath as Governor of Jharkhand and stayed in the post till 12th July last year. She was the first woman Governor of the state and the first female tribal leader to serve as a Governor in any Indian state.

Meanwhile, Ms Murmu highlighted the spirit of new India and the emergence of the country as a global leader. She said, the world has lots of hope from India. She said, the country has elected her when the country is celebrating 75th year of Independence. 

She greeted the nation on the eve of Kargil Vijay Diwas saying that this day is the symbol of courage of country's armed forces. She also remembered the contribution of freedom fighters and stressed the need to speed up efforts to meet the expectations that India's freedom fighters had with the citizens of independent India. Appreciating the efforts of the country during the Covid pandemic, she said, administering 200 crore vaccine doses to the people of the country is a big achievement.

Earlier in the morning, Ms Murmu paid tribute at Rajghat in the national capital ahead of her swearing-in. After that outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Savita extended greetings to Ms Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan. They then reached the Central Hall in a ceremonial procession.

After conclusion of the ceremony, the President left for Rashtrapati Bhavan where an Inter-Services Guard of Honour was given to her in the Forecourt, and courtesies were extended to the outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind.