Prime Minister Modi on Friday inaugurated the new Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), named Seva Teerth and the Central Secretariat buildings, and Kartavya Bhavan 1 and 2. The event was attended by Union Ministers, senior bureaucrats and other officials. This also marks the end of an era when the North and South Blocks are vacated. Initially housed by the British government, the North and South Blocks were taken over by the Indian government in 1947. They were designed by British Architect Herbert Baker. The South Block housed the Prime Minister’s Office and the offices of the Union Ministries of External Affairs and Defence. North Block housed the Ministries of Home Affairs and Finance.
The newly built Seva Teerth complex will house Prime Minister’s Office, the National Security Council Secretariat and the Cabinet Secretariat. Kartavya Bhavan 1 and 2 house several key Ministries, including the Ministry of Finance, Defence, Health and Family Welfare, Education, Corporate Affairs, Culture, Law and Justice, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Chemicals, Information and Broadcasting, and Fertilizers, and Tribal Affairs. Both the buildings feature digitally integrated offices and centralised reception facilities. The complex also incorporates renewable energy systems, waste management solutions, and high-performance building envelopes. The Prime Minister also released a commemorative postage stamp and a coin bearing an inscription of the new PMO building, Seva Teerth, on the occasion.
