PM: India will script its success story at Kartavya Bhavan

THe daydream of a highly-developed republic of india testament use up shape in Kartavya Bhavan (Central Secretariat Building 3), Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday after inaugurating the first of the 10 upcoming state-of-the-art Common Central Secretariat (CCS) buildings, which will house offices of key ministries, including home, external affairs, petroleum and natural gas, and the office of the principal scientific advisor to the PM.“From these very buildings, the dream of a developed India will take shape, and this goal will be achieved only through our collective efforts. Together, let us make India the world’s third-largest economy and script the success story of Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” he said at an event at Kartavya Path.The CCS-3 is the first building made ready as part of the marquee Central Vista revamp conceived in 2019.Pointing out that the colonial-era administrative buildings, which were earlier housing key ministry offices, had subpar working conditions, offering insufficient space, inadequate lighting, and poor ventilation, the PM said: “Even after gaining Independence, the country’s administrative machinery continued to operate for decades out of buildings constructed during the British era...”Besides, he added, the central government will save ₹1,500 crore rent annually after construction of the CCS. “Many ministries of the Indian government were being run from 50 different locations in Delhi. Many of these ministries are run from rented buildings, which translates to a huge sum of money on rent. While the number is quite big, approximately the number comes to ₹1,500 crore annually... It is estimated that around 8,000-10,000 officials travel between ministries, which means many hundreds vehicles are used, which costs money, create traffic snarls, and leads to time wastage.”In the past 11 years, India has built a governance model that is transparent, responsive and citizen-centric, he said.Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister, accompanied by Union housing and urban affairs (HUA) minister Manohar Lal and HUA secretary Katikithala Srinivas, took a tour of the newly constructed building.“Kartavya Bhavan, on the path of duty, is a symbol of our unwavering commitment and continuous efforts toward serving every individual. It will not only help in swiftly delivering our policies and schemes to the people but will also provide a new momentum to the country’s development. I am deeply proud to dedicate this building, an example of state-of-the-art infrastructure, to the nation,” PM posted on X in Hindi.This makeover is the centrepiece of PM Modi’s bid to leave a new architectural legacy, a contrast to the previous mix of colonial-era architecture from the seat of power.The ones already delivered are the new Parliament building, which hosted its first session in September 2023; the redeveloped Raj Path as Kartavya Path, which opened in September 2022, and the Vice-President’s enclave, which was ready in April 2024.The new Parliament building and the Vice President’s enclave were delayed by more than a year as the entire Central Vista overhaul was originally scheduled to be completed by 2024. Now CCS-3, along with CCS-1 and 2, is set for completion in September, with 88% of the project already completed, a government reply in Parliament on July 24 said. CCS-10 (28% of construction completed) is scheduled to be ready by April 2026, while CCS-6 and CCS-7 (1% of the work completed) are expected to finish construction by October 2026, it added.Speaking on Tuesday, Union ministry of housing and urban affairs officials said that now all the remaining CCS buildings and the PM’s office and residence will be made ready within 2027-end..