New Delhi, Sept 9 : President Pratibha Devisingh Patil has congratulated Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on his assumption of office today.

In her message, the President said, “Your election is a milestone in Pakistan''s history. It symbolizes the durability and strength of democratic forces in Pakistan. The resurgence of these forces is in the interests of Pakistan as also our entire region. You face immense challenges and we are committed to working closely with you to further develop bilateral relations between our two countries for the mutual benefit of our peoples and our region.”

New Delhi, Sept 9 : President Pratibha Devisingh Patil has congratulated Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on his assumption of office today.

In her message, the President said, “Your election is a milestone in Pakistan''s history. It symbolizes the durability and strength of democratic forces in Pakistan. The resurgence of these forces is in the interests of Pakistan as also our entire region. You face immense challenges and we are committed to working closely with you to further develop bilateral relations between our two countries for the mutual benefit of our peoples and our region.”

New Delhi, Sept 9 : Leaders of the Left, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and other non-Congress and non-BJP parties on Tuesday met President Pratibha Patil to demand immediate convening of the Monsoon Session of Parliament.

The leaders accused the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government of subverting the Constitution by deciding to do away with the monsoon session and convening a combined session.

New Delhi, Sept 8 : President Pratibha Devisingh Patil today distributed Satyen Maitra Literacy Award on the occasion of International Literacy Day at Vigyan Bahwan.

The award is given to selected districts implementing Total Literacy Campaign (TLC), Post Literacy Programme (PLP) and Continuing Education Programme (CEP).

The TLC award was given to Bishnupur (Manipur); PLP to Garwha (Jharkhand); CEP to Jhansi (Uttat Pradesh), Sarguja (Chattisgarh), Udayapur (Rajasthan), Medak
(Andhra Pradesh) and Begusarai (Bihar)

New Delhi, Sept 8 : Emphasizing the role of literacy and education in overall human development, President Pratibha Devisingh Patil today said that literacy and education confer a wide set of benefits not only on individuals and families but also on the communities as a whole.

Amravati, Sept 6 : President Pratibha Patil today laid the foundation stone of the Finlay textile mill at Achalpur in Amravati district of Maharashtra.

The textile mill, which was initiated as a private enterprise in 1903, was closed down in 1959. Then, it was taken over by the Government of Maharashtra and brought under state textile corporation in 1972 and subsequently nationalised on April 1, 1974.

The unit was closed down once again in 2003. The new Finlay mill is now being relocated on this spot with the sophisticated machinery through the investment of Rs 326 crores.