340 rooms, highly skilled body guards: Everything you need to know about 'Rashtrapati Bhawan'

The primary role of the President's Bodyguard is to escort and protect the President of India which is why the regiment is based in the Rashtrapati Bhavan

New Delhi: President House, also known as Rashtrapati Bhawan would on Tuesday have its new occupant after President elect Ramnath Kovind would take oath as 14^th President of India. Things to know about Rashtrapati Bhawan:  

• President house is a 340 room building which is President’s official residence. It also has several rooms for guests and offices.
• Also includes huge presidential gardens also known as Mughal Gardens, IS spread over an area of 130-hectare (320 acre) and which is made public for the common man.
• It is one of the largest areas allotted to the head of the states of the world.
• Consisting of four floors and 340 rooms, with a floor area of 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2), it was built using 700 million bricks and 3,000,000 cu ft (85,000 m3) of stone with little steel.
• It took 17 years to build the President house
• When the foundation was laid, the country was under British rule. The construction began in 1911.
• Around 1.25 crore were spent on the construction at that time
• 347 staffers work inside Rashtrapati Bhawan
• Over 225 garners take care of Mughal Garden

President’s bodyguards:

• The soldiers of PBG today are adept at ceremonial punctilio, trained Combat Paratroopers and Armoured Vehicle Crewmen.
• Honed to perfection in diverse combat skills, the PBG personnel have proven their worth in battle, as well as in mounted tourneys and equestrian skills.
• This elite body of troops is the senior most Regiment of the Indian Army, whose distinction, is in its position as 'Right of the Line' on all official and ceremonial occasions.