7 Race Course Road
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

7, Lok Kalyan Marg, formerly 7, Race Course Road, is the
official residence An official residence is the House, residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, Clergy, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-relate ...
and principal workplace of the
Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...
. Situated on ''
Lok Kalyan Marg Lok Kalyan Marg, formerly Race Course Road, is a road in New Delhi, India. It is located south of Central Delhi. The nearest Delhi Metro station is Lok Kalyan Marg station. This road houses both the Prime Minister of India's residence at 7, Lok ...
'',
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
, the official name of the Prime Minister's residence complex is ''Panchavati''. It is spread over of land, comprising five
bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...
s in
Lutyens' Delhi Lutyens' Delhi is an area in New Delhi, India, named after the British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869–1944), who was responsible for much of the architectural design and building during the period of the British Raj, when India was part o ...
, built in the 1980s, which are the Prime Minister's office, residency zone and security establishment, including one occupied by
Special Protection Group The Special Protection Group (SPG) is an agency of the Government of India whose sole responsibility is protecting the Prime Minister of India and in some cases, his or her family. It was formed in 1988 by an Act of the Parliament of India. The ...
(SPG) and another being a guest house. However, even though there are 5 bungalows, they are collectively called 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. It does not house the Prime Minister's Office but has a conference room for informal meetings. The entire
Lok Kalyan Marg Lok Kalyan Marg, formerly Race Course Road, is a road in New Delhi, India. It is located south of Central Delhi. The nearest Delhi Metro station is Lok Kalyan Marg station. This road houses both the Prime Minister of India's residence at 7, Lok ...
, which lies right across the road, is closed to the public.
Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...
was the first Prime Minister to reside at the erstwhile 7 Race Course Road, in 1984. It does not house the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), which is located in the
South Block The Secretariat Building or Central Secretariat is where the Cabinet Secretariat is housed, which administers the Government of India. Built in the 1910s, it is home to some of the most important ministries of the Cabinet of India. Situated at ...
of the Secretariat Building, on
Raisina Hill Raisina Hill ( IAST: ''Rāyasīnā Pahāṛī''), often used as a metonym for the seat of the Government of India, is an area of New Delhi, housing India's most important government buildings, including Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residenc ...
nearby in
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
, where the Cabinet Secretariat functions. The nearest
Delhi Metro The Delhi Metro is a mass rapid transit (MRT) system serving Delhi and its satellite cities of Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Noida, Bahadurgarh and Ballabhgarh, in the National Capital Region of India. The network consists of 10 colour-cod ...
station is
Lok Kalyan Marg metro station The Lok Kalyan Marg Metro Station is located on the Yellow Line of the Delhi Metro. It serves the Lok Kalyan Marg area in Central Delhi, and the Prime Minister's official residence, 7, Lok Kalyan Marg is located nearby. History The station ...
. When a new Prime Minister is nominated his/her original house is for the time being given a security detail and the new office holder is then advised to move in the 7, LKM at the earliest possible date. The residence was earlier called ''7, Race Course Road'', which changed to ''7, Lok Kalyan Marg'', following the renaming of the road on which the house is situated, in September 2016.


History

Earlier, the Prime Ministers of India lived in their own house or house allotted to them through Parliament, allotment by virtue of being an MP.
Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
took up residence in
Teen Murti Bhavan The Teen Murti Bhavan (''Teen Murti House''; formerly known as Flagstaff House) was built by British as the residence New Delhi of the Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. However, He stayed there for 16 years until his death on 27 May 1 ...
, which used to be the residence of the Commander-in-Chief of the
British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...
in
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
; it was formerly called the ''Flagstaff House''. After Nehru's death in 1964, the building was converted to the
Nehru Memorial Museum and Library The Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML) is a museum and library in New Delhi, India, which aims to preserve and reconstruct the history of the Indian independence movement. Housed within the Teen Murti House complex, it is an autonomous inst ...
in 1984. The next Prime Minister of India
Lal Bahadur Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri (; 2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966 and 6th Home Minister of India from 1961 to 1963. He promoted the White Re ...
chose
10 Janpath 10, Janpath is a public-owned house on Janpath. At the time of Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in 1991, while he was campaigning for a second term as Prime Minister of India, 10, Janpath was his official residence, although he lived at 7, Lok Kalya ...
as his official residence, where he stayed 1964–1966. It was later allotted to the
Congress (I) Indian National Congress (Requisitionists) was created in 1969; it was created and led by Indira Gandhi. Initially this party was known as Congress (R), but it soon came to be generally known as the New Congress or Syndicate. The letter 'R' st ...
party, though a part of it became biographical museum, Lal Bhadur Shastri Memorial and Museum at 1, Motilal Nehru Place (formerly 10, Janpath), adjacent to the complex. The current resident of 10, Janpath is
INC Inc. or inc may refer to: * Incorporation (business), as a suffix indicating a corporation * ''Inc.'' (magazine), an American business magazine * Inc. No World, a Los Angeles-based band * Indian National Congress, a political party in India * I ...
interim President An acting president is a person who temporarily fills the role of a country's president when the incumbent president is unavailable (such as by illness or a vacation) or when the post is vacant (such as for death, injury, resignation, dismissal ...
,
Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi ('' née'' Maino; born 9 December 1946) is an Indian politician. She is the longest serving president of the Indian National Congress, a social democratic political party, which has governed India for most of its post-independ ...
. After the
assassination of Indira Gandhi Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated at 9:30 a.m. on 31 October 1984 at her residence in Safdarjung Road, New Delhi. She was killed by her bodyguards Satwant Singh and Beant Singh in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star, an I ...
at her 1, Safdarjung Road residence garden while going towards neighbouring 1, Akbar Road office for an interview on 31 October 1984, it was converted into the Indira Gandhi Memorial and Museum. Former
Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation w ...
Sudhi Ranjan Das Sudhi Ranjan Das (1 October 1894 – 18 September 1977) was the 5th Chief Justice of India, serving from 1 February 1956 to 30 September 1959. Das also served as chairman of ''The Statesman''. Background and education S.R. Das was born in ...
had previously lived at this address before Indira Gandhi.
Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...
, her son and successor as Prime Minister, along with his wife
Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi ('' née'' Maino; born 9 December 1946) is an Indian politician. She is the longest serving president of the Indian National Congress, a social democratic political party, which has governed India for most of its post-independ ...
and children
Rahul Gandhi Rahul Gandhi ( ; born 19 June 1970) is an Indian politician and a member of the Indian Parliament, representing the constituency of Wayanad, Kerala in the 17th Lok Sabha. A member of the Indian National Congress, he served as the president of ...
and
Priyanka Gandhi Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (''née'' Gandhi; born 12 January 1972) is an Indian politician and the general secretary of the All India Congress Committee in charge of Uttar Pradesh. She is the daughter of former Prime minister of India Rajiv Gandhi ...
, became the first occupant of erstwhile 7, Race Course Road, in 1984. When
V. P. Singh Vishwanath Pratap Singh (25 June 1931 – 27 November 2008), shortened to V. P. Singh, was an Indian politician who was the 7th Prime Minister of India from 1989 to 1990 and the 41st Raja Bahadur of Manda. He is India's only prime minister to ...
became the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Urban Affairs designated 7, Race Course Road premises occupied by Rajiv Gandhi as the permanent residence and office of the Prime Minister of India to ensure that all successive prime ministers were allotted the same house on assuming office. A government notification on 30 May 1990, officially designated these bungalows as the official residence of Indian Prime Minister. In the 1990s
I. K. Gujral Inder Kumar Gujral (4 December 1919 – 30 November 2012) was an Indian diplomat, politician and freedom activist who served as the 12th prime minister of India from April 1997 to March 1998. Born in Punjab, he was influenced by nationalist ...
and some of his predecessors, used 7, Race Course Road as Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The 14th and current
Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...
,
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
, chose 5, Race Course Road as his residence as the erstwhile 7, Race Course Road was being refurbished at that time, after his predecessor
Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...
had vacated it. The erstwhile 7, Race Course Road was chosen as Modi's office.


Construction

The bungalows of the 7 LKM were originally designed by
Robert Tor Russell Robert Tor Russell (1888–1972) was a British architect. In his position as Chief Architect to the Public Works Department of the Government of India, he is primarily associated with the development of the city of New Delhi in the early 1930s. ...
, who was part of British architect
Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memori ...
’ team, when he was designing New Delhi in the 1920s and 1930s.


The Bungalows

The Prime Minister's residence was built in the 1980s. It does not have his office inside the house, but has a conference room for informal meetings. The Prime Minister's residence and office and security spread across five
bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...
s: Bungalow 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9. This includes 5, Lok Kalyan Marg, the Private Residential Zone for the Prime Minister, though he primarily operates from 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. Bungalow 1 is a helipad for the service of Prime Minister which is being used as so since September 2003. Earlier, it was resided in by Dr. S. Venugopal Chary of TRS, who vacated it on the government’s requests with a purpose of increasing the security. It is under the control of the
Special Protection Group The Special Protection Group (SPG) is an agency of the Government of India whose sole responsibility is protecting the Prime Minister of India and in some cases, his or her family. It was formed in 1988 by an Act of the Parliament of India. The ...
. After former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan vacated his Bungalow 11, the last addition to the LKM complex was complete. The entire road with bungalows numbering 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 came under Prime Minister’s residential complex. Bungalow 3 which was earlier the residence of Dr. Manmohan Singh has now been converted into a guesthouse for Prime Minister's guests. Bungalow 9 is occupied by the
Special Protection Group The Special Protection Group (SPG) is an agency of the Government of India whose sole responsibility is protecting the Prime Minister of India and in some cases, his or her family. It was formed in 1988 by an Act of the Parliament of India. The ...
(SPG) that guards the Prime Minister. A tunnel connects the Indian prime minister's residence to the
Safdarjung Airport Safdarjung Airport is an airport in New Delhi, India, in the neighbourhood of the same name. Established during the British Raj as Willingdon Airfield, it started operations as an aerodrome in 1929, when it was India's second airport after the ...
, where high-importance helicopters land. Constructed beyond Kemal Atatürk Marg, Golf Course and
Safdarjung Tomb Abul Mansur Mirza Muhammad Muqim Ali Khan (c. 1708 – 5 October 1754), better known as Safdar Jang, was a major figure at the Mughal court during the declining years of the Mughal Empire. He became the second Nawab of Awadh when he succeeded S ...
and then an overground drive to surface at the helicopter hangar at the airport, work on the tunnel began in 2010 and was completed by July 2014 and Modi was the first Prime Minister to use it. Current prime minister
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
uses 5, LKM as his residence which has also been used as so by
Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (; 25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months fr ...
and
Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...
.


Panchvati

In 2001, during the tenure of Vajpayee, a state-of-the-art auditorium was constructed at the cost of and was named as ''Panchvati'', it has been named after the spot where
Ram Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * Ra ...
and
Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...
had built their hut during their exile. It is equipped for video conferencing and simultaneous translations This can be modelled into 2–3 conference rooms and can also act as a banquet for a gather of 200–340 people. This can be used as a cabinet meeting room and can also be arranged to form a theatre.


Security

While the government-run
Special Protection Group The Special Protection Group (SPG) is an agency of the Government of India whose sole responsibility is protecting the Prime Minister of India and in some cases, his or her family. It was formed in 1988 by an Act of the Parliament of India. The ...
(SPG) is the primary agency in charge of the security, it is aided by the
Central Reserve Police Force The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is a federal police organisation in India under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of the Government of India. It is one among the Central Armed Police Forces. The CRPF's primary role li ...
(CRPF),
Border Security Force The Border Security Force (BSF) is India's border guarding organisation on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India, and was raised in the wake of the 1965 war on 1 December 1 ...
(BSF) and the
Delhi Police The Delhi Police (DP) is the law enforcement agency for the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). Delhi Police comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India. In 2015, sanctioned strength of Delhi ...
to provide three-rung security for the estate. There is only one entrance to 7 Lok Kalyan Marg, which is guarded by the SPG. Only those visitors whose names have been given to SPG by the prime minister's personal secretaries are allowed in. The rule applies to everybody, including the national security adviser, top bureaucrats, relatives and guests (barring close family) and visitors are expected to carry an identity card. No outside vehicle is allowed to go beyond the checkpoint and even high-profile visitors including cabinet ministers are required to park their official vehicles by the checkpoint. Special SPG vehicles are used to carry the guests from the checkpoint to the residential office of the Prime Minister. The only exception to this rule is for the SPG protectors themselves who are allowed to take the vehicle carrying them into the complex. The whole area is a no-fly zone and airspace usage around the area is highly restricted and monitored. Over the years, its security has gradually been increased. A bulletproof glass-tube passage was built in 2003, connecting Bungalow 3, at the Prime Minister’s residence, to ''Panchvati'' or 7 LKM, where the Prime Minister meets people and delegations and holds official meetings. A concrete wall was added on the periphery, separating the house from the main road, to render any truck bomb or a car bomb attack ineffective. However, the residence is surrounded by various high rise building and public structures, including Samrat Hotel, Ashoka Hotel, and state guesthouses on one side, to the
Delhi Gymkhana The Delhi Gymkhana Club or Delhi Gymkhana is a club in New Delhi. It is located on 2, Safdarjung Road. History Originally called the 'Imperial Delhi Gymkhana Club', it was founded on 3 July 1913, at Coronation Grounds, Delhi. Its first pres ...
Club (DCG) and Delhi Race Course which lies on the other. Accordingly, plans for a helipad within the complex were mooted for several years. By 2004, the
Intelligence Bureau Intelligence Bureau may refer to: * Intelligence Bureau (India) * Intelligence Bureau (Pakistan) * Intelligence agency See also *Intelligence Bureau for the East, a World War I German organisation *Intelligence agency *National Intelligence Servic ...
(IB) took over most of the rooms of Samrat Hotel overlooking the residence and watchtowers were erected inside Delhi Gymkhana. The Delhi Gymkhana can be accessed only via Safdarjung Road. The residence has a power substation, and doctors and nurses from the
All India Institute of Medical Sciences The All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is a group of autonomous government public medical universities of higher education under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare , Government of India. These institutes ha ...
are on duty round the clock. There are several ambulances on standby, one of which always accompanies the prime minister's motorcade. The civic officials ensure that there are no traffic bottlenecks on Kemal Atatürk Marg that runs outside the bungalows. In 2004, the road was refurbished at a cost of to make it the permanent residence of the Indian Prime Minister. 7 LKM also has massive, manicured lawns and has abundant
gulmohar ''Delonix regia'' is a species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae native to Madagascar. It is noted for its fern-like leaves and flamboyant display of orange-red flowers over summer. In many tropical par ...
, semal and
arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...
trees which homes several birds, including peacocks.


Staff

Besides the secretarial staff, it has a support staff of about 200 gardeners, servants, and electricians. They are employed after a background check.


Workplace

The workplace at 7 LKM has two small rooms on either side from the entrance for each of the two personal secretaries. Then there is a small corridor with a visitor's room to the right. Further ahead is a chamber to meet guests. Adjacent to that is the living space for larger meetings, behind which is the dining room where breakfast and lunch meetings are hosted. A corridor from 7 LKM leads to ''Panchvati'' which can be segmented into two or three conference rooms or a large banquet hall. On the walls are artworks loaned by the
National Gallery of Modern Art National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
(NGMA) which are often changed in consultation with the prime minister's office. The gifts received by the Prime Minister are either displayed at 7 LKM or are sent to the ''toshakhana'' (treasure house).


See also

*
List of official residences of India Below is a list of official residences of India. Union State Union territories See also * Raj Bhavan * Raj Niwas References {{reflist India Residences A residence is a place (normally a building) used as a home or dwelling, where p ...
*
Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bh ...
* Prime Minister's Office, India


References


External links


Facts and history
at ''jagranjosh.com'' {{Prime Ministers of India Houses completed in 1984 Official residences in India Government buildings in Delhi Prime ministerial residences