Sonia made the announcement while addressing a press conference at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence at 7, Race Course Road.
Patil was administered oath of office and secrecy by Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan.
A Rashtrapati Bhavan announcement said the appointments would take effect from the date they assume charge.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had been carrying on consultations with various political parties and individuals.
Refuting the allegations against Pratibha, Nationalist Congress Party chief and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said no inquiry was ordered against her under the Maharasthra Cooperative Societies Act.
The first President born after Independence takes office.
The Union Cabinet and its committees have been given a new 'mantra' by President Pratibha Patil and asked to clear every proposal only after ensuring that it meets the requisites of equity or inclusiveness, innovation and public accountability.The Cabinet Secretariat has shot out a 'secret' demi official letter to all secretaries in the government, citing the President's diktat.
After five years of stay in the 340-room Presidential mansion, Pratibha Patil on Wednesday moved to a four bedroom bungalow here at a high-security area in the heart of the capital.
Patil, who is visiting the state for the first time after she assumed office as President, went to a bunker located at 9,600 ft altitude and interacted with army officers and jawans. "I am so delighted to visit this very important and strategic post. I simply admire courage and morale of the jawans who are keeping vigil on the border day and night in such a hazardous area and climatic conditions," Patil wrote in visitors book at Tangdhar.
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had sent in a request to the President for visiting Baramati in Maharashtra to see the all round development made in the areas of agriculture, irrigation and town planning.
The Union Budget delayed because of elections in five states will now be presented on March 16, four days after Parliament will begin its Budget session.
President Pratibha Patil nominated Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimhan as the doyen of governors to discharge responsibilities and conduct the three-day conference of governors starting October 29 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Here is a list of leaders who have flown IAF aircraft in the past:
The nation on Saturday remembered former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 94th birth anniversary with President Pratibha Patil and Vice President Hamid Ansari among prominent personalities who paid rich tributes to the leader.
The nation on Sunday remembered the country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on his 48th death anniversary, with President Pratibha Patil and Vice-President Hamid Ansari paying homage to him.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday fowarded to President Pratibha Patil the resignation letters of the following ministers in the Union council of ministers with the recommendation that they may be accepted.
President Pratibha Patil on Friday signed the proclamation to revoke Central rule in Karnataka. Patil, who is at present on a visit to Shimla, signed the proclamation and sent it to the Union Home Ministry for issuing of requisite orders.The President's rule, which had expired on May 19, was extended by another six months after a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took a decision in this regard.
On the eve of a brief session of Parliament, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday met President Pratibha Patil and discussed internal security, the Mumbai terror attack and other issues of national importance. The hour-long meeting took place amid speculation that the prime minister would soon be undertaking a cabinet reshuffle in the wake of resignation of Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and indisposition of Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi.
With the exit of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader A Raja from the Union government in the wake of the massive telecom scam and President Pratibha Patil accepting his resignation late on Monday evening, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is likely to table the CAG report on the 2G spectrum controversy in Parliament on Tuesday.
Keeping up the trend of power legacy in Indian politics, at least 20 candidates contesting in the forthcoming Maharashtra assembly elections are sons and daughters of prominent political leaders.
The cabinet meeting was convened at a short notice to discuss the political situation in Nagaland against the backdrop of the Bharatiya Janata Party-backed Democratic Alliance winning a controversial no-confidence motion in December.
Election fever has reached its peak in Baramati in the last phase of the campaign for the Maharashtra assembly polls with the rival Nationalist Congress Party factions led by Ajit Pawar and his uncle Sharad Pawar leaving no stone unturned.
Union Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal has urged President Pratibha Patil to flag off a government-sponsored Yatra, christened as Sakshar Bharat Yatra from Delhi on February 18.
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Ajit Singh was sworn in as the 33rd member of the Union Cabinet, and 77th in the Union council of ministers on Sunday morning. Singh is widely expected to be allotted the civil aviation portfolio. This is the fourth time Singh has been inducted into the Union Cabinet.
Yesteryear actor Waheeda Rahman, singer S P Balasubrahmanyam, music composer Khayyam, former diplomat Brajesh Mishra and pioneer of the test tube baby in India Indira Hinduja were among a host of distinguished people conferred with the coveted Padma awards in New Delhi on Thursday evening.
Amid speculation of a reshuffle in the Union Council of Ministers, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday met President Pratibha Patil and discussed the upcoming budget session of Parliament. A Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said the meeting lasted 45 minutes, during which the two leaders discussed the current economic situation and various other issues. The issues included price rise, internal security and the budget session.
President Pratibha Patil walked into a near empty Brazilian Senate for her address, leaving Indian Embassy officials and the hosts red-faced. Only 15 of the 81-member House turned out on Tuesday to greet 73-year-old Patil. A senior Brazilian government official said it was not unusual for sparse attendance during special sessions since only leaders of political parties are invited.
President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday accepted the resignation of Prithviraj Chavan from the Union Council of Ministers and asked Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal to hold additional charge of two ministries independently handled by him.
Chief Justice of India N V Ramana administered the oath of office of the President to her in the Central Hall of Parliament.
Slamming Union Home Minister P Chidambaram for his comment that political parties in Andhra Pradesh should first make up their mind on Telangana issue, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday demanded that the Centre should conduct a referendum in the region.
The Election Commission on Friday issue a 'certificate of election' to NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu who has emerged victorious in the presidential poll.
"Mercy petition filed by Tabassum, wife of the Parliament House attack convict Afzal Guru, should be rejected. Nature of the crime committed is heinous and he deserves no mercy," a ministry note said. Guru was awarded the death sentence by a Delhi court on December 18, 2002 after being convicted of conspiracy to attack Parliament on December 13, 2001, waging war against the country and murder.
Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roy was on Tuesday elevated to Cabinet rank to take over as Union railway minister replacing Dinesh Trivedi, who was forced to resign after Congress caved in to Mamata Banerjee's pressure.
The government may come into confrontation with the Election Commission over its attempt to curb the latter's immense authority to almost take over all administration powers through the Model Code of Conduct during the elections.
To corner the Manmohan Singh government in the Budget Session of Parliament, a united opposition today demanded a debate on price rise on February 23, before the Railway Budget and the Union Budget are placed in the Lok Sabha.
Denying the charge of backing rebel of Congress leader Sunil Deshmukh against the candidature of President Pratibha Patil's son Raosaheb Shekhawat from Amravati in Maharashtra assembly polls, Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said on Tuesday that party workers should learn to accept the party's decision.
Bandu Tidke, who was sentenced to death for raping and murdering a 16-year-old girl, was sentenced to death by trial court in Bagalkot in 2005. Tidke was a HIV positive patient and died in 2007 in a government hospital in Belgaum.
Journalists across the country will on Saturday hold demonstrations in protest against frequent attacks on scribes and to press their demand that the Centre form a national security policy for them.
Combating inflation, protecting the common man from the impact of rising food prices and sustaining the momentum of economic growth while ensuring the poor get a fair share of the "fruits of growth" are among the government's "foremost priorities" in 2011-12, President Pratibha Patil said in her address to Parliament this week.
The Centre has asked the President not to give assent to the Gujarat Control of Organised Crime bill as it did not carry the two changes earlier suggested by it.
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