The patience finally paid off. The President stepped out on the lawn with a microphone in his hand and delivered a small speech outlining mission India -- to be a developed nation by 2020. Then he took everyone by surprise by offering to answer five questions from the delegates. The presidential aides scurried around to organise microphones.

A delegate asked the President what his biggest passion in life is. He replied: "To see 1 billion Indians smile."

Another delegate wanted to know if India could deal with corruption by 2010. The President said: "Corruption? I tell you, you frame any number of laws and corruption will not go away. There are only three people who can stop corruption -- a father, a mother and the primary school teacher."

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