President Of India To Mark 80th Birthday Tomorrow

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee will mark his 80th birthday tomorrow (December 11, 2015) by participating in a number of functions at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release a book on the ‘Presidential Retreats’ and Volume III of selected speeches of the President. The President will inaugurate a Festival of Energy called Umang-2015 at the Dr. Rajendra Prasad Sarvodaya Vidyalaya School within the President’s Estate. He will declare the school a solar powered green school and also launch Sajag - a smartphone App on energy education. A new children’s section of the President of India website will also be inaugurated tomorrow.

"Selected Speeches of the President” -- Vol. III is third in a series of volumes containing important speeches of the President. Speeches in this volume have been segregated into three themes, namely, Award Functions, Important Days and Events and Conferences. These speeches reflect the President’s deep understanding and appreciation of the subjects and his vision of where he wants to see our country to be in these sectors. The book is being published by Publications Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

"The Presidential Retreats of India” has been prepared by Sahapedia under commission from the President’s Secretariat and Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA). This book, published by the Publications Division will cover "The Retreat” at Mashobra and "Rashtrapati Nilayam” at Secunderabad. Both these are 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. 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.

UMANG 2015 will spread awareness on judicious and sustainable consumption of energy, energy conservation and renewable energy through activities like ‘Nukkad Natak’, dance drama etc.

‘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.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, President’s Estate with its own electricity generatingsolar rooftop plant will be declared a Solar Powered Green School. The Solar power plant will enablethe school to operate with 100% solar generated electrical energy. This 10 KW installation at the school's rooftop consisting of 40 Solar Panels will generate approximately 15000 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.

An 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.

This Press Release issued at 1745 hrs.