India's new president sworn into office in elaborate ceremony
NEW DELHI - Political veteran Pranab Mukherjee has been sworn in as India's 13th president in an elaborate and symbolic ceremony in Parliament.
The position of president is largely ceremonial but Mukherjee will have a key role in determining who forms the next government in the event of a hung parliament after elections in 2014.
The 76-year-old Mukherjee is a top leader of the Congress Party who resigned his post as finance minister to run for president. He was elected by national and state lawmakers last week.
Mukherjee travelled to Parliament on Wednesday in a bulletproof limo escorted by an honour guard on horseback and security jeeps. His arrival was greeted by the blaring of bugles.
