North And South Block Informatuion :

Location: On Raisina Hill, at the western end of Rajpath, adjacent to Rashtrapati Bhavan
Famous as: British Secretariat Buildings that are now offices of the Government of India
Time to Visit: Open on all days
Preferred Timings: Subject to official permission
Admission Fee: Free but prior permission required
Nearest Railway Station: New Delhi Railway Station
Nearest Metro Station: Central Secretariat
Functional Metro Station: Central Secretariat
Nearest International Airport: Indira Gandhi International Airport
Time required for sightseeing: Approx 1 hour

North And South Block History:

The north and south blocks were introduced as the two secretariat buildings when the british relocated the government offices to north and south blocks in New Delhi. The buildings designed by the Edwin Lutiyen and Herbert Baker. The secretariat buildings were built in the designs of the imposition of superiority of the white masters over the natives.

North And South Block Description :

The north and south blocks of the secretariats comprises of the major offices of the government of India.

Design :

Designed by the celebrated British architect Herbert Baker, the Secretariat Building at Delhi is a combination of the Mughal, Rajput as well as British styles of architecture. Adorned with a dome like structure that gives a unique prominence to the building, the North and South Blocks are important from an architectural point of view as well.

The main offices of the north block are:

•  Ministry of Finance
•  Ministry of home affairs

The south block offices comprises of:

• Ministry of Defense
• Ministry of External Affairs
• The Prime Minister's office

The secretariat buildings of the north and south block are made of rose pink and pale yellow sandstone. The structure of the buildings gives a hint of the Mughal and Rajputana style. Both buildings are ornamented with stone screens which are known as ‘ jali'. The buildings are provided with slants along the roof that shelters the artwork of the building from heat and monsoonal showers. The government of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa donated the four Dominion columns that stand within the Great court. The centre of the court is adorned by the Jaipur Column of red sandstone with structures of a white egg, bronze lotus and six-pointed glass star of India. 

How to Reach:

Tourists can either take local buses from various points within the city to reach the monument, which is located near Connaught Place (CP), the heart of the city, or they can hire auto-rickshaws and taxis or metro rail.