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President to host star-studded banquet for US President Barack Obama
Obama visit: Ceremonial banquet to be a star-studded affair
The ceremonial banquet at Rashtrapati Bhavan in honour of the US President Barack Obama is tipped to be a star-studded affair, with President Pranab Mukherjee extending an invitation to leading industrialists, sportspersons and cine stars.
President Obama will land in Delhi on January 25 for his second India visit and after a string of bilateral engagements, cap his first day with the ceremonial banquet.
Government sources said the guest list for the banquet– that is expected to serve well over a dozen courses- includes actor Amitabh Bachchan and cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar apart from leading industrialists.
Ratan Tata chairperson Emeritus of Tata Sons, Mukesh Ambani chairperson Reliance Industries, Anil Ambani chairperson Reliance Group, Anand Mahindra, chairperson of Mahindra & Mahindra, Deepak Parekh HDFC chairperson, Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder and chairperson of Bharti Enterprises, Kiran Mazumbdar Shaw, Biocon chairperson, and Shashi Ruia of Essar group are among those on the list.
The invitee list at Rashtrapati Bhavan- and the strong business component of the visit- mirrors the importance of business in the broader calculus of Indo-US strategic relations
The US President is slated to meet the business leaders again on January 26 when he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi address top CEOs at two focused back-to-back meetings.
The first of these will be under the Indo-US CEOs forum, which was instituted in 2010 during Obama's first visit to India.
This will be followed up with another meeting with CEOs organised by the US-India Business Council, an influential industry lobby group of top companies from both countries.
