President-elect Droupadi Murmu to be sworn-in as 15th President of India today

President-elect Droupadi Murmu paid tribute at Rajghat in Delhi this morning ahead of her swearing-in.

President-elect Droupadi Murmu will be sworn-in as President of India in the Central Hall of Parliament at 10:15 AM today. 

The outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind and the President-elect Droupadi Murmu will arrive in the Central Hall in a ceremonial procession. 

Chief Justice of India NV Ramana will administer the oath of the office of the President to Mrs Murmu, which will be followed by a 21-Gun Salute.

The President will then deliver an address. On the conclusion of the ceremony in the Central Hall, the President will leave for Rashtrapati Bhavan where an Inter-Services Guard of Honour will be given to her in the Forecourt and courtesies will be extended to the outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind.

Chairman of the Rajya Sabha M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union Ministers, Governors, Chief Ministers, Heads of Diplomatic Missions, Members of Parliament, and principal Civil and Military Officers of the Government of India will assemble in the Central Hall for the Swearing-in Ceremony.

Sources reports that president-elect Droupadi Murmu is the first tribal person and the second woman who will hold the position. 

The 64-year-old will be the youngest President of the country. She will also be 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.

In view of the swearing-in ceremony, Department of Personnel and Training has issued orders directing partial closure of certain Central government offices today.

The construction work of the new Parliament building also needs to be kept on hold during the time of the ceremony.

As per the order, a total of 30 offices and buildings are required to be vacated by 6 AM today for carrying out an anti-sabotage check. This exercise will continue till the ceremony is over.

The buildings that would be vacated early include South Block, North Block, Rail Bhawan, Krishi Bhawan, Shastri Bhawan, Sanchar Bhawan, PTI Building, AIR, Sena Bhawan, Vayu Bhawan, Udyog Bhawan and Nirman Bhawan among others. These buildings would remain closed from 6 AM to 2 PM today.

Delhi traffic police has advised commuters to avoid roads near Sansad Marg due to the swearing-in ceremony.

It has asked commuters to avoid Imtiaz Khan Marg, Gurudwara Rakabganj Road, Patel Chowk, Raisina Road, Dr Rajendra Prasad Road, Maulana Azad Road, and Motilal Nehru Marg from 9 AM to 12 noon today.

It has also advised to avoid Kautilya, Teen Murti Marg, Teen Murti, Akbar Road, Krishna Menon Marg, Vijay Chowk, K Kamraj Marg, Sunehri Masjid, Rafi Marg, Rail Bhawan, and Sansad Marg.