President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said Bihar -- the land of Buddha and Mahavira -- inspires him whenever he visits the state.

"Bihar has big historic importance. I have visited Bihar several times and every time it (the state) inspired me," the President said.

He was speaking as the chief guest at the inauguration of the third and final international conference to mark the silver jubilee celebrations of the Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI), a Patna based think tank.

The President arrived here by a special Indian Air Force plane and spent nearly two hours before returning to Delhi.

Over 100 experts and researchers from across the country and abroad, including those from prestigious universities like Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, London School of Economics, Amsterdam and National University of Singapore, will discuss and present papers at the five-day conference on the theme of 'Bihar and Jharkhand: Shared History to Shared Vision'.

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