By NewsGram Staff Writer

Paying homage to Bharat Ratna Babasaheb Ambedkar, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of Dr. Ambedkar International Centre today in Delhi.

"Babasaheb Ambedkar stood for all of humanity, and was, in particular, a ray of hope for the marginalized and downtrodden sections of society, " the Prime minister said.

He further added that Babasaheb had created great Constitutional institutions such as the Election Commission and Finance Commission, in which the entire nation had immense faith and confidence even today.

Noting that this project had been conceived in 1992 – more than 20 years ago – the Prime Minister said he was distressed at the delay in the initialization of this project, and emphasized that his Government had resolved to complete the work within 20 months. He urged the concerned departments to ensure a world-class quality of construction.

This year marks the 125th Birth Anniversary year of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (14.04.2015 to 14.04.2016). The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has planned a calendar of activities to pay respect to Dr. Ambedkar, the architect of our Constitution.

The four storeyed Centre would be built on an area of 3.25 acres and would have a Public Library, Research & Extension Centre, Media-cum-Interpretation Centre, Convention Centre, two auditoriums and Exhibition on the Life of Dr. Ambedkar.

Dr. Ambedkar's vision of fraternity finds its eloquent expression in the environment friendliness features of the building by integrating energy efficient principles in the building design.