<P> Lutyens traveled between India and England almost every year for twenty years, to work on the construction of Viceroy's House in both countries . Lutyens reduced the building from 13,000,000 cubic feet (370,000 m) to 8,500,000 cubic feet (240,000 m) because of the budget restrictions of Lord Hardinge . While Hardinge demanded that costs be reduced, he nevertheless wanted the house to retain a certain amount of ceremonial grandeur . </P> <P> When Chakravarti Rajagopalachari assumed the office as the first Indian - born Governor General of India and became the occupant of this building he preferred to stay in a few rooms which is now the family wing of the President and converted the then Viceroy's apartments into the Guest Wing where visiting heads of state stay while in India . </P> <P> On 26 January 1950, when Rajendra Prasad became the first President of India and occupied this building, it was renamed as Rashtrapati Bhavan--the President's House . </P> <P> Consisting of four floors and 340 rooms, with a floor area of 200,000 square feet (19,000 m), it was built using 700 million bricks and 3,000,000 cu ft (85,000 m) of stone with little steel . </P>

First president of india to live in rashtrapati bhavan