India's new Parliament building: A look at key features

From state-of-the-art infrastructure to technology to assist the Parliament’s functions, here's what new Parliament building promises

India is all set to get a new Parliament building with Prime Minister Narendra Modi gearing up to inaugurate the tech-savvy power house on May 28.

Considering the original Parliament building was completed in 1927, the 100-year-old structure was increasingly being found to be inadequate to meet requirements of the current government. Taking into account the growing need for space, technology, and facilities, both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha passed resolutions to construct a new building for the Parliament. The foundation stone of the new building was laid on December 10, 2020 by PM Modi.

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Let's take a look at the features of the new Parliament building:

> The "first purpose-designed Parliament" will house larger Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha halls. The Lok Sabha will be three times bigger with a capacity of up to 888 seats, while the Rajya Sabha will have a seating capacity of up to 384. The Lok Sabha may be able to accomodate up to 1,272 seats for joint sessions, according to the Central Vista website.

> Along with essential facilities like committee rooms, major offices of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Lok Sabha Secretariat and Rajya Sabha Secretariat, the building will also include publicly accessible museum-grade galleries and exhibits.

> India’s heritage will be portrayed in the Constitution Hall and the Gallery of the building.

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> The structure built over an area of 64,500 square metres, will also be differently-abled-friendly.

> The Lok Sabha is based on Peacock theme, the national bird. And the Rajya Sabha is based on Lotus theme, the national flower.

> The building will have ultra-modern offices that are designed to be secure, efficient and are equipped with the latest communications technology.

> Furniture in the debating halls will include smart displays and biometrics for ease of voting with intuitive and graphical interface.

> The new building will also have digital language interpretation and recording infrastructure to produce real-time metadata and programmable microphones.

> The new Parliament building will have large Committee rooms, equipped with the latest audio-visual systems. It will house functional, purpose-designed spaces to facilitate and deliver higher efficiency.

> The new Parliament will also house a revamped Sansad Bhavan.

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> The Central Lounge, intented to be a place for members to interact, will complement the open courtyard. The courtyard will have the Banyan tree.

> There will be 92 rooms for the use of the Council of Ministers, and six Committee rooms, the present structure has three.

> The new building will feature rainwater harvesting and water recycling systems. Provision of 100 per cent UPS power backup will also be made throughout the building.

> The new Parliament building's design takes reference from the present Parliament building, and other historical buildings of the Central Vista.

> It will also reflect the classical, folk and tribal arts and crafts of India.

> The National Emblem will crown the new Parliament building.

> A historic golden 'Sengol' or sceptre, received by first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as a symbol of the transfer of power from the British, will also be installed in the new Parliament building with the Narendra Modi government projecting it as something that connects Indian tradition with modernity.