News Update: 25 July 2007

1) Pratibha Patil takes Oath: At the 60th year of its independence, India got its fist Woman President, as Pratibha Patil took oath as the 13th President of the country. The swearing-in ceremony was held at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Several high profiles leaders like outgoing President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, PM Dr. Manamohan Singh, former PM AB Vajpayee, Opposition leader LK Advani, BJP President Rajnath Singh and LS Speaker Somnath Chatterjee were present.

Chief Justice of the Supreme court, KG Balakrishnan, administered the oath of office to Mrs. Patil. Union Transport Secretary, Christy Fernandes will be the new Secretary to Pratibha Patil.

2) Monica Walks Free: Monica Bedi's traumatic wait came to an end, as she was released from the Hyderabad prison after after she secured a bail from a court in connection with a case of passport forgery.

3) Harry Potter queues up for Tendulkar's autograph: It was a great sight! Harry Potter fame Daniel Radcliffe lined up in the queue to seek an autograph of Sachin Tendulkar at the end of Lord's test match. He called himself as a great fan of the Indian batting legend.

4) CCPA approves Nuke Deal Clause: The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) and Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the draft Indo-US nuclear cooperation agreement reached in Washington last week. The government gave the nod for the 123 Agreement to operationalize the nuclear deal, after all its concerns were properly addressed.