President Ram Nath Kovind today said he decided to break the protocol in order to attend a private function to felicitate "good people" like Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi and former ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar.
The function was organised by Surat-based SRK Foundation, which is run by Govind Dholakia, the owner of diamond firm Shree Ramakrishna (SRK) Exports.
"When I learnt that Satyarthi and Kiran Kumar were to be felicitated, I said these two are good men. But I decided to check the credentials of the award-givers. I learnt that they are also fine.
"So, I decided to break the tradition a little bit to felicitate two good people," the president said.
Satyarthi and Kiran Kumar were presented with mementos and a cash award of Rs 1 crore each by Kovind.
Satyarthi said he was honoured to receive the award and declared that he would donate the money for the welfare of children.
Kiran Kumar said he received the award not as an individual, but as a representative of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Kovind said he was happy that Surat's business community was supportive of philanthropic and social welfare efforts.
He also praised the organisers for instituting the awards.
On the occasion, Kovind remembered acclaimed Gujarati poet Veer Narmad and said it was the latter's writing that had motivated people to take part in the country's Independence struggle.
"After the mutiny of 1857, a time had come when most people of the country had started believing that the British rule was good for them. In such a scenario, it was Veer Narmad, a son of this soil, who had opened the eyes of the people and motivated them to fight against the British," he said.
The president told the gathering that he used to visit Surat frequently in the 1970s and stay at former chief minister Hitendra Desai's residence.
Gujarat Governor O P Kohli and Chief Minister Vijay Rupani were also present on the occasion.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)