Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message to popularise ancient Indian medicine practices has found resonance with Rashtrapati Bhavan.

On July 25, President Pranab Mukherjee will begin his fourth year in office with the inauguration of an AYUSH wellness centre that will be run from a heritage building in the President’s Estate.

Being set up in collaboration with the Ministry of AYUSH, the wellness centre will offer elaborate and therapeutic services, including mud baths and oil massages, physiotherapy and yoga to de-stress the mind and body.

The services at the centre, being housed in an old circular building which is currently being renovated, will be offered to residents of the sprawling President’s Estate, said Omita Paul, Secretary to the President.

The decision to open the centre has not been taken after the recent show of India’s “soft power”, Yoga, at the international level, but is the culmination of a proposal that has been in the pipeline.

The centre is Mr. Mukherjee’s way of lending “his passion and support” to the ancient forms of medicine.

While the President is fond of taking long walks in the immaculately laid out Mughal Gardens, one of his predecessors, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, had introduced a herbal garden.

Mr. Mukherjee’s fourth year in office will also include a host of functions such as the biggest-ever conference of 114 institutions of higher learning.