The introduction of 'Life in Rashtrapati Bhavan' under the children-special interactive section on President Pranab Mukherjee's website and host of other programmes are being planned to celebrate his birthday tomorrow.
Mukherjee turns 80 tomorrow.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release a book on the 'Presidential Retreats' and volume III of selected speeches of the President. Mukherjee will inaugurate a festival of energy called 'Umang-2015' at the Rajendra Prasad Sarvodaya Vidyalaya School within the President's estate, a press release issued today said.
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He will declare the school a solar powered green school and also launch Sajag--a smartphone application on energy education. A new children's section of the President of India website will also be inaugurated tomorrow, it said.
The interactive children's section for the popular website of the President of India has been created for young children of age 7 to 15 years. It will educate them in simple language and with photos and video footage on various aspects of Rashtrapati Bhavan and the President.
"It will include the story of building of Rashtrapati Bhavan, role of President, highlights of President Pranab Mukherjee's Presidency, information on Presidents since independence, banquets and kitchen of Rashtrapati Bhavan, President's Bodyguard, garden trail, life in Rashtrapati Bhavan and museums of Rashtrapati Bhavan," the release said.
Selected Speeches of the President--Vol III contains important speeches of the President. Speeches in this volume have been segregated into three themes--award functions, important days and events and conferences.
'The Presidential Retreats of India', a book, will cover
'The Retreat' at Mashobra and 'Rashtrapati Nilayam' at Secunderabad, both 19th-century heritage buildings.
In this volume, a team of authors led by Gillian Wright trace the history of grand city residences and rural retreats from the time of construction of Government House, Kolkata (now Raj Bhawan) and the riverside retreat of Barrackpur, it said.
The authors look afresh at the Presidential Retreats' imposing partner buildings--Shimla's Viceregal Lodge (later the Rashtrapati Niwas and then, the Indian Institute of Advanced Study) and the Residency, Hyderabad.
They throw new light on the context of the Retreats by analysing the development of hill stations and the evolution of Hyderabad's military cantonments. For the first time, they bring to the public eye, the Retreats themselves, their architecture and interiors.
Through first-hand accounts, they describe life as it was and as it is lived at the Retreats, where Presidents have traditionally come both to relax and, more importantly, to meet and make themselves accessible to the people of India, the release said.
Umang 2015 will spread awareness on judicious and sustainable consumption of energy, energy conservation and renewable energy through activities like 'Nukkad Natak', dance drama.
'Sajag' is designed to increase awareness in youth on the need to conserve energy and empower them to participate as future energy ambassadors of society.
Rajendra Prasad Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, President's Estate with its own electricity generating solar rooftop plant will be declared a solar powered green school tomorrow.
The solar power plant will enable the school to operate with 100 per cent solar generated electrical energy. This 10 KW installation at the school's rooftop consisting of 40 solar panels will generate approximately 15,000 units of electricity every year--thereby preventing emissions of some 13,200 Kg of CO2 if this power was generated by conventional sources of energy.
