The oath-taking ceremony was one of the biggest events hosted by Rashtrapati Bhavan with the guest list crossing the 4,000 mark. Rashtrapati Bhawan had earlier held ceremonies attended by just 1,400-1,500 guests. Not only the VIPs representing various segments of the society starting from film stars to tea venders, peasants to industrialists or businessmen, also attended the event. Since limited invitation cards were distributed, many people reached Rashtrapati Bhavan in the hope that they would get entry. There was holiday like situation in majority of the offices as the staff left home early. All news channels and even the youtube telecast the event live. All Doordarshan channels including 15 in regional languages telecast live.
