Your Excellency, Mr.Nicos Anastasiades, President of the Republic of Cyprus,

Distinguished members of the Cypriot delegation,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to welcome you, Mr. President and the distinguished members of your delegation on your first State Visit to India.

Your Excellency, Mr. RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN

President of the Republic of Turkey,

Madam EMINE ERDOGAN,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a privilege to welcome you all this evening.

It is indeed a great pleasure to be present amidst you on the occasion of the convocation of the Indian Forest Service Officers of the batch of 2015-17. Convocation is no doubt a landmark day in your life as you graduate from formal training and leave the portals of your alma mater in service of the Nation. It is also a landmark event for your teacher, parents and friends.

It is a pleasure to meet you on the occasion of your annual conference.

1.I am indeed very happy to be present amidst you this afternoon for the nineteenth National Technology Day function being organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology. When we celebrateTechnology Day, it is not only to commemorate the spectacular technological achievements of our nation.

1. It is indeed a great pleasure for me to be amidst you on the occasion of presentation ofthe National Florence Nightingale Awards for 2017. It is a fitting tribute to the iconic ‘Lady with the Lamp’.

2. I congratulate all the award winners and extend my best wishesto the entire nursing community of our country.

Ladies and gentlemen,

1.I am honoured to be invited to deliver the inaugural Memorial Lecture instituted in memory of our former Vice-President Shri Bhairon Singh Sekhawat, an outstanding statesman, humble son of the soil and a man of the masses.

Your Excellency Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is with great pleasure that I extend a very warm welcome to you, Mr. President and the distinguished members of your delegation.

It is indeed a privilege as well as a pleasure for me to be invited to deliver the Ramnath Goenka Memorial Lecture.

When I think of The Indian Express, I think of Shri Ramnath Goenka.

I am indeed very happy to be amidst this august gathering of distinguished dental professionals, academicians and research scholars and to receive the first copies of these two books – Color Atlas of Oral implants and Conservative Dentistry – Basics. At the outset, let me congratulate the authors of both these books Dr. Praful Bali, Dr. Lanka Mahesh, Dr. Dildeep Bali and Dr.