New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the development of the Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum at Delhi’s North and South Block complex on 11 November, at an estimated cost of Rs 3,230 crore.
The museum will be developed by repurposing the historic North and South Block buildings, which previously housed key government offices.
“A new Yuge Yugeen Bharat National Museum will be established to showcase India’s cultural heritage in a beautiful manner. It will be the largest museum in the world,” Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while briefing the media on the Cabinet decisions.
In May 2023, Prime Minister Modi announced the establishment of the Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum.
“The project seeks to preserve the architectural and heritage character of these iconic buildings while giving them a new institutional role,” the Ministry of Culture said in a press release.
The project will be implemented in phases over five financial years, from 2026-27 to 2030-31. The first gallery, on the theme of ‘Adornment’, is expected to open to the public in the North Block in the latter half of 2027.
Other galleries are being developed around themes such as Architecture and Cityscapes, Mathematics and Astronomy, Languages and Scripts, Faith and Spirituality, and ‘Bharat Connects – Trade and Ideas’.
Around 1.8 million objects have been identified from the National Museum and other museums under the Ministry of Culture, 52 Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) site museums, state museums and private collections for the proposed museum.
Recently, ThePrint reported that the famous Indus Valley Civilisation artefacts, including the Dancing Girl figurine and Pashupati Seal, were removed from the National Museum for display at the Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum’s mock gallery.
Also read: Dancing Girl removed from National Museum. Former MP complains to culture minister
What the museum will offer
The government expects the museum to have significant cultural, educational, economic and employment-related outcomes.
“It will provide an integrated institutional platform for presenting India’s civilizational evolution, continuity and diversity, strengthening the preservation and dissemination of tangible and intangible heritage,” the Ministry of Culture said in its press release.
The government said the project would give the historic North and South Block buildings a public cultural purpose while retaining their architectural and heritage character.
“The Museum is expected to emerge as a major cultural destination, attracting domestic and international visitors and strengthening India’s global cultural presence and soft power,” the press release said.
The estimated project cost of Rs 3,230 crore has been calculated based on architectural and exhibition design, engineering, and museum planning requirements, including technical assessments undertaken by the concerned agencies.
According to the press release, the museum is also being equipped to handle up to one crore visitors a year.
(Edited by Maryam Hassan)