President celebrates Raksha Bandhan at Rashtrapati Bhavan with 89 students and 32 teachers

The official after-action note is up. The Ministry of Education, via Press Information Bureau, Delhi, posted Release ID 2304278 at 5:01 pm on 28 August 2026: President Droupadi Murmu celebrated Raksha Bandhan with school students and teachers at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The PIB page is https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2304278. This desk opened that page on 29 August 2026 morning IST. This is the numbered Ministry of Education readout.

PIB’s headline on the page: “President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, celebrates Raksha Bandhan with students from schools across the country at Rashtrapati Bhavan.” The subheads add that students from 17 states, one Union Territory, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti took part, and that they visited Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya, Rashtrapati Bhavan and Amrit Udyan as part of the educational experience.

Who was in the room, as PIB counted them

The release states that 122 participants, including 89 students and 32 teachers, took part in the special celebration. Thirteen Children with Special Needs (CwSN) were among the representatives drawn from 17 states, one Union Territory, KVS and NVS. Those are PIB’s figures. This desk is not adding a state-wise roster, naming schools, or inventing a participant list the release does not print.

The Ministry of Education is the releasing ministry on the page. Posted On: 28 AUG 2026 5:01PM by PIB Delhi. Visitor-counter and share widgets on the page are not the story. This copy uses only the official PIB text.

What the readout said the President urged — and what the students did

PIB, in reported speech, said the President urged school students to extend the core values of Rakshabandhan — love, care and protection — to the environment. It said she added that the festival symbolised a bond of love that could be shared with anyone, including family members, friends and even trees. Expressing concern at the deteriorating balance of the environment, the readout said, she asked students to tie rakhis on plants and trees to preserve the equilibrium necessary for survival. Emphasising that students were the future of the country, it said the resolve taken to plant and nurture trees should become a lifelong commitment. Those lines are PIB’s paraphrase. This desk is not adding quotation marks the release does not use, and is not inventing further remarks.

As part of their visit to the national capital, the students visited Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya on 27 August 2026. After the Rashtrapati Bhavan programme on 28 August, they took a guided tour of Rashtrapati Bhavan and Amrit Udyan. PIB said they will also visit “The Light and the Lotus: Relics of the Awakened One” exhibition at the Raipithora Cultural Complex to view the sacred Buddha relics on display, and will further visit the National Science Centre, the National War Memorial and India Gate as part of their educational visit on 29 August 2026. That 29 August leg is the live date on this desk’s clock.

The participants on the Ministry of Education note are government-school students and teachers, including CwSN, KVS and NVS.

The counts this desk is using — 122 participants, 89 students, 32 teachers, 13 CwSN — are from that English PIB page, Release ID 2304278.

PIB Delhi posted Release ID 2304278 at 5:01 pm on 28 August 2026. If that English page is revised, the revised release is the record.