New Delhi, Jan 25 (IANS) US President Barack Obama, who was accorded a ceremonial red carpet welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan Sunday, said it's "a great honour" to be back in India.
"It's a great honour to be back in India. I am grateful for the extraordinary hospitality," Obama told reporters in the forecourt of the magnificent presidential palace where he was escorted by Wing Commander Puja Thakur as he inspected the tri-service guard of honour.
President's Bodyguard's mounted troops earlier escorted the US presidential motorcade that rolled in at 12.15 p.m. through the iron gates of the impressive presidential palace.
The 21-gun salute sounded as horses escorted The Beast - carrying the US president - down the path leading to the forecourt.
He was received by President Pranab Mukherjee dressed in a black bandgala suit and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had changed into a light striped black bandgala suit from his morning attire of light cream-coloured kurta pyjama with beige Nehru jacket paired with a red shawl.
Obama chatted and laughed with Mukherjee and Modi before proceeding to a podium for the ceremonial welcome.
Obama, who is the first US president to be chief guest at India's Republic Day parade, walked along the red carpet to stand on a podium, covered by a red canvas top with gold trim.
The military band stretched in ranks before him as the national anthems of India and the US were played.
He then inspected the tri-service guard of honour.
Obama was introduced to union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Manohar Parrikar, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Nejeeb Jung, and Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha.
Once again Obama exchanged pleasantries and warmly shook hands with Mukherjee and Modi.
He folded his hands together to say 'Namaste', the traditional Indian way of greeting, as he left for Rajghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi.
UK's discriminatory attitude, we will also take retaliatory action; India's warning on Covishield
The Indian government says that Britain has adopted a discriminatory attitude by not recognizing the corona vaccine Covishield. It also said that if no solution is found, then retaliatory action will
Terrorist attack in the famous market of Pakistan: Blast in Anarkali market of Lahore, 4 killed, a bomb was planted in bike
Another terrorist attack happened in Pakistan. A bomb blast took place in the historic and famous Anarkali market of Lahore on Thursday afternoon. Four people were killed and 20 were injured in this.
Swine flu claims two lives in Hyderabad
Hyderabad, Jan 22 (IANS) Swine flu has claimed two more lives in Hyderabad while a central health team arrived Thursday to take stock of the situation, an official said.Two women, aged 55 and 56,
Russia Ukraine Crisis: Ukraine's nuclear plant out of control, UN warns
The UN's nuclear chief has warned that Europe's largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine is completely out of control. He urged Russia-Ukraine to allow experts to visit the complex at the earliest to
SC to examine CCI jurisdiction on DLF flat owners' plea
New Delhi, Feb 11 (IANS) The Supreme Court Wednesday said it will examine whether the Competition Commission of India had the jurisdiction to entertain the plea by flat owners in three DLF
Madhya Pradesh: Two-day lockdown in urban areas, everything will remain closed from Friday evening to Monday 6 am
The second wave of corona is becoming explosive in Madhya Pradesh. To prevent the epidemic here in one day, the state government has imposed a complete lockdown in all urban areas from 6 pm Friday to
IPL 2024: When a KKR fan hid the ball inside his pants, the policeman became angry, then what happened...the whole truth was captured in the video.
The match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians was played at Eden Gardens on Saturday 11 May. A video of this match surfaced, which quickly went viral on social
Cleanliness of White House on unfollowing PM Modi's Twitter account, said - follow for a short time
Washington. The White House on Wednesday clarified that its twitter handle usually follows the Twitter account of officials of host countries for some period during the visit of the US President to
Delhi has become a gas chamber: Eyes are burning due to pollution, AQI has crossed 349; Conditions have worsened in many areas.
The pollution level in Delhi-NCR was recorded as very bad on Wednesday. Before Diwali, Delhi was heading towards becoming a gas chamber. The amount of dust particles and poisonous gases in the air has
Mumbai: Murder of a woman living in a live-in, the body was cut into pieces and boiled in a cooker, caught by mistake
Delhi's Shraddha Walker murder case grabbed headlines across the country and now a similar heart-wrenching case has come to the fore in Mumbai as well. A woman was brutally murdered in the Akashganga
