Big plans for Rashtrapati Bhavan

President Pranab Mukherjee, who is unlikely to get a second term, plans to mark his four years in office on July 25 with some fanfare. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Phase II museum of the Rashtrapati Bhavan on that day. It will mark the completion of the Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum Complex, a project that Mukherjee initiated when he moved into his official residence in mid-2012. The Phase II museum is being developed at the site of a heritage building where the garage for Rashtrapati Bhavan vehicles was located earlier. The Phase I museum had come up at the site of the erstwhile stables and was opened on July 25, 2014. The Clock Tower was inaugurated on July 25, 2015. The Phase II museum, spread over 10,000 square metres, will depict the story of the planning and construction of Rashtrapati Bhavan and subsequent developments. The President will unveil a microsite on the Rashtrapati Bhavan website. He will also lay the foundation stone for a cluster of new residential units on July 24.