New Delhi, July 24 : President Pratibha Devisingh Patil hosted a lunch for a group of more than 100 children, all of them from the underprivileged sections of society and some of them orphans in the Banquet Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday.

The children were from Bal Vikas Vidyalaya, Bachchon Ka Ghar, Arya Orphanage, Nehru Bal Samiti and Literacy India.

A Rashtrapti Bhavan press release said that the President wanted these children to have an opportunity to see Rashtrapati Bhavan and have the privilege to be treated to a lunch in the Banquet Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan, where banquets are hosted for the Heads of State.

Welcoming the children, the President said that they are the future of the nation and urged them to study hard.

Patil said that education is the key to development of societies and when you educate a girl child, you educate a family.

The President emphasised on the need for children to imbibe good moral values.

The children asked various questions ranging from education of children, sports and recreation, the President''s Vision for India, how to balance tradition with modernity, her expectations from children and child nutrition.

The President joined the children for lunch for which the menu was tomato soup, butter chicken, Goan fish curry, paneer pasanda, lauki ka kofta, gobhi kajoo, moong dal and peas pulao, naan and parantha. The meal was rounded off with gulab jamun and mango ice cream.

The children were also treated to live music with such tunes as ''Nanhe Munne'', ''Maana Janab'', ''Lambada'', and ''Ankhon Mein Teri''. (ANI)