Today, on Vikram Samvat 2082… Phalgun Krishna Paksha… Vijaya Ekadashi… on the auspicious occasion of Magh 24, Shaka Samvat 1947…

On 13 February 2026, the Hon’ble Prime Minister dedicated to the nation the new Prime Minister’s Office, which will now be known as ‘Seva Teerth’.

North and South Blocks were constructed by the British to keep India bound in the chains of colonial rule. Although India attained freedom from colonial rule in 1947, these buildings were retained by the then government for the discharge of its functions. Since Independence, the Prime Minister’s Office has functioned from this building in South Block.

Today, we feel happy that the meeting of the Union Cabinet is being held for the last time in this chamber of South Block. This is not merely a moment of change of place; it is also a moment of the confluence of history and the future. This complex has witnessed and shaped many historic events from slavery to freedom and then of independent India. This complex has witnessed important decisions taken by Cabinets formed under the leadership of 16 Prime Ministers of the country. From Nehru Ji to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji, their footprints are on its stairs. The steps climbed on the stairs of this building have made an important contribution in taking the country to new heights.

In the past decades, in the Cabinet meetings held here, inspired by the ideals of the Constitution, the mandate received from the people and the aspirations of the nation, many important decisions have been taken. Here, India’s successes were celebrated, failures were assessed, and strong and major decisions were taken to deal with crises and challenges.

The rooms of South Block have witnessed the horror of Partition, the challenges of war and Emergency, and deliberations on policies during peacetime. They have experienced the long leap of technology from typewriters to digital governance.

Sitting here, several generations of officials took decisions that brought India out of the uncertainty immediately after Independence and moved it forward on the path of stability. It is the result of everyone’s efforts that, emerging from economic challenges and crises, today India stands as a confident nation. 

Today’s India is one of the leading economies of the world. India has emerged as a secure and capable nation and is presenting its clear and effective voice on global platforms.

In the past decade, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji, South Block has been the center of many historic decisions of the nation. This place became the inspiration site of Minimum Government, Maximum Governance. From here, the reform express received encouragement across the country. From here, wide-ranging reforms such as DBT, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, campaigns related to welfare of the poor, Digital India, GST took shape. From here, courageous and sensitive decisions of social justice such as bringing down the wall of Article 370 and making a law against triple talaq were taken. From here were also taken the decisions of surgical strike, air strike and Operation Sindoor, through which India gave a clear message of its firm and confident security policy to the world.

Today, the country is moving forward with the resolve of a developed future. For this, there was a need for a modern, technological and environmentally friendly office. A workspace that increases the productivity of every karmayogi working here and encourages his resolve of service.

With this spirit, nearly 95 years after the inauguration of South Block, today on 13 February 2026, the Government of India is vacating these buildings and shifting to ‘Seva Teerth’ and ‘Kartavya Bhavans’. Symbolically, this is another step of the country from the past of slavery towards the future of ‘Developed India’. In the past years, instead of the culture of ‘power’, the culture of ‘service’ has been strengthened in the country. Today’s transition will further strengthen these values.

Today, the Cabinet also resolves that North and South Blocks be made part of the “Yuge Yugeen Bharat National Museum,” which will continue to inspire generations from our thousands of years old civilization. This museum will celebrate our timeless and eternal cultural heritage and connect our glorious past with a prosperous future.

The Union Cabinet expresses gratitude towards the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s visionary leadership for transforming the center of governance from a colonial past into the ‘Seva Teerth’ of new India.

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MJPS/VJ