Adding a major impetus to the Green Building Movement in India which is being spearheaded by CII's Indian Green Building

Council (IGBC), the Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan of the Ministry of External Affairs, has become the first government Office building in New Delhi to be awarded with IGBC's LEED India- New Construction (NC) Gold Rating. Dr. Prem C Jain, Chairman, IGBC and Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII presented the prestigious CII-IGBC Green Building Plaque and Certificate to Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai at a special programme organised at Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan. Mathai said that it is a matter of great pride that Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan has been constructed as per Green building guidelines and this building is a perfect blend of India's ancient architectural concepts and modern technological innovations. Green would soon become a way of life for the occupants of the Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan, added Mathai. Dr. Prem C Jain, Chairman, IGBC while expressing delight over this remarkable achievement underlined that, Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan has scripted a new chapter in the annals of Indian green building movement. This milestone will further enable other Government buildings to go the Green way and facilitate India emerge as one of the global leaders in green buildings, he added. Dr Jain, while appreciating the commendable work done by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) for the design and execution of Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan said in days to come, CPWD has an important catalytic role in constructing all upcoming Government buildings in the country go the Green way. Highlighting the steady growth of green buildings in country, Dr Jain said that today, India has over 2,110 IGBC registered green building projects amounting to over 1.54 Billion sq. ft of green building footprint with projects spread across the five climatic zones of the country, which has put India on the top 3 countries in world green building map. The vision of the Council is to 'enable sustainable built environment for all and facilitate India to be one of the global leaders in sustainable built environment by 2025', he informed. Earlier, Tanmay Tathagat, Director, Environmental Design. Solutions (EDS) while making a brief presentation on the Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan said that this building has been designed and constructed as per CII-IGBC Green Building guidelines. He added that some of the key green features of Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan include: * Energy savings of about 30% * Water saving of more than 50% * Courtyard integration for daylight, views and ventilation performance * Integration of roof gardens- reflective roof and grass pavers * Building Management System- integration of MEP Systems for Systems Control * Controllability of lighting and HVAC for 90% of the building occupants * Extensive use of old furniture