Chavan gifts Obama coffee table book on Maharashtra

MUMBAI - A coffee table book on Maharashtra is what Chief Minister Ashok Chavan gifted Barack Obama as soon as the US president touched down here Saturday.

After shaking hands with Obama as he alighted from his US Air Force One aircraft, Chavan presented him with the book, which the state government published when the state turned 50 on May 1 this year.

The book contains information on the agriculture, corporations, information technology, education, health and current affairs of the state. It basically gives a peek into the state, an official from the state government’s publicity department told IANS.

Mr. Chavan has also requested him (Obama) to keep the book in the White House museum, added the official.

Obama arrived around 1 p.m. Saturday on a four-day India visit. He was received at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport by Chavan and union Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, the minister-in-waiting for the US president.