India elects 14th President: 7 interesting facts about Ram Nath Kovind's new home the Rashtrapati Bhavan

India's 14th President has been elected. President-designate Ram Nath Kovind will now be new occupant of what could be called India's most iconic palace at Raisina Hill - Rashtrapati Bhavan. While you may know enough about your Rashtrapati, but do you know enough about the Rashtrapati Bhavan? Here are some of the most interesting facts about the President's official home - Rashtrapati Bhavan .  

• Presidential palace Rashtrapati Bhavan was designed in 1911 by British architect Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker and stands on a 330 acre estate. It was built in more than seventeen years.
• The then Governor-General and Viceroy Lord Hardinge wanted the building to be completed within four years. However, even by 1928 it looked impossible. To finish the construction. The government archives suggest that the delay was primarily due to the First World War.
• Rashtrapati Bhavan's main building covers an area of 5 acres and has 340 rooms spread over four floors. The iconic marvel was built by using 700 million bricks and three million cubic feet of stone. The estimated cost of building the Viceroy's House was Rs 14 million.
• Rashtrapati Bhavan has two prominent halls - Durbar Hall and Ashoka Hall - which are used for state functions and other purposes. The Presidential Palace has a famous Mughal Gardens which cover an area of 15 acres and have 159 celebrated varieties of roses.
• Lord Irwin was the first person to occupy the newly constructed Viceroy's House on April 6, 1929. He was the Viceroy and Governor-General of India at the time.
• In Rashtrapati Bhavan's forecourt there stand 145 feet tall column which is also known as Jaipur Column which was gifted by Maharaja of Jaipur, Siwai Madho Singh to commemorate the creation of Delhi as the new capital.
• The Palace was initially built for the British Viceroy after it was decided in 1911 that the capital of India would be relocated from Calcutta to Delhi. It was known as Viceroy's House. However, after the first President of India took over on 26 January 1950, the palace was renamed as Rashtrapati Bhavan - the President's House.