PM Modi to inaugurate Seva Teerth, Kartavya Bhawan 1, 2 on Feb 13

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a special meeting of the Union Cabinet at South Block on Friday, the last such gathering at the British-era secretariat building before the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) shifts to its new complex, 'Seva Teerth'.

 

Official sources confirmed this will be the Cabinet's final meeting in the PMO located in the imperial complex designed by British architect Herbert Baker in the early 1900s to meet the requirements of the British Raj.

 

The cabinet meeting, scheduled for 4 pm on Friday, will be followed by the PMO's relocation to 'Seva Teerth'. The move will mark the end of an era, as all government departments vacate the North and South blocks -- the seat of power since 1921.

 

The government plans to convert the iconic buildings into the 'Yuge Yugeen Bharat National Museum', a world-class museum tracing India's civilisational journey.

 

The relocation is part of the government's broader initiative to decolonise India's administrative architecture and governance.

 

The North and South blocks have been the seat of power in the country since 1921.

 

Earlier, the Home Ministry had moved out of the North Block complex at Raisina Hills in Lutyens' Delhi.  PM Modi will inaugurate the Seva Teerth, the new building of the Prime Minister's Office, and Kartavya Bhawan 1 and 2, on February 13, his office said on Wednesday.

The Friday inauguration marks a transformative milestone in India's administrative governance architecture and reflects the Prime Minister's commitment to building a modern, efficient, accessible and citizen-centric governance ecosystem, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said.

For decades, several key government offices and ministries functioned from fragmented and ageing infrastructure spread across multiple locations in the Central Vista area.

This dispersion led to operational inefficiencies, coordination challenges, escalating maintenance costs and sub-optimal working environments. The new building complexes address these issues by consolidating administrative functions within modern, future-ready facilities, it said.

Seva Teerth houses the Prime Minister's Office, the National Security Council Secretariat, and the Cabinet Secretariat, all of which were previously located across different locations.

Kartavya Bhavan 1 and 2 accommodate law, defence, finance, health, agriculture, and several other key ministries.

Both building complexes feature digitally integrated offices, structured public interface zones and centralised reception facilities.

Designed in accordance with 4-Star GRIHA standards, the complexes incorporate renewable energy systems, water conservation measures, waste management solutions and high-performance building envelopes.

These measures significantly reduce environmental impact while enhancing operational efficiency, the PMO said.

The building complexes include comprehensive safety and security frameworks, such as smart access control systems, surveillance networks and advanced emergency response infrastructure, ensuring a secure and accessible environment for officials and visitors.