NEW DELHI: Less than a month after President Ram Nath Kovind took over office, he looks to be echoing the former President’s efforts to make the Presidential estate more accessible to the common man. Kovind has asked for an updated website and a significant digital presense, saying that the Rashtrapati Bhavan is a national institution.

Kovind, who is in the process of getting acquainted with the staff at Rashtrapati Bhavan, has asked the press wing to ensire that information on the President’s estate is accessible to as many people as possible,” said an official at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

He directed this while meeting the press wing, which is responsible for providing information regarding the President’s estate to the world.

Saying that Rashtrapati Bhavan belongs to all the people of our country, the President added, “Those in Delhi can visit it by themselves, but an updated website and digital presence, in this era of digital technology and social media, can ensure that more and more people in other parts of the country can be part of the Rashtrapati Bhavan online community.”

Kovind’s plans to amp up the digital presence of the Rashtrpati Bhavan comes even as speculation over the on-going renovations of the President’s estate has been doing the rounds. Former President Pranab Mukherjee had in his five years undertaken an ambitious task of renovating the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The project, which was supervised by INTACH, is a long project and has already seen the main building of the Rashtrapati Bhavan undergoing massive renovation, with many of the guest wings as well as the main Durbar hall being restored to their former glory.

During Mukherjee’s tenure, the brief had been to utilise the space in Rashtrapati Bhavan and to throw it open to the country and its people. It was done by restoring all unused rooms, rediscovering old furniture and artefacts and positioning them as per the original design. It wasn’t just the main building of the Rashtrapati Bhavan that underwent renovation but also the stables and library within the President’s estate.

Officials said that the current President is also looking to keep the Rashtrapati Bhavan an open space for the people. As part of that, the updated website will enable those living outside the city to also get a glimpse of the estate.

The meeting with the press wing is the second in a series of meetings that the President has called to acquaint himself with the President’s staff. In the first batch, he had met the President’s Military Wing officers and staff.

