New Delhi, Sep 7 (PTI) The upcoming Yuge Yugeen Bharat National Museum is the country’s endeavour to create the “world’s best institution” of its kind, and efforts are to bring the best talent from India and abroad together in sustainable partnerships for this project, Union Culture Secretary Vivek Aggarwal said on Monday.
He was addressing representatives from various vendors who seek to partner with the ambitious museum project, which will be housed in the British-era North Block and South Block here.
Work has begun on restoring the North and South Blocks to their original design, following which the project to convert them into the ambitious Yuge Yugeen Bharat National Museum will start by a consortium selected via a global tender, Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat recently said.
In an interview with PTI Videos in May, he had also shared more details on the status of the mega project, and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given the culture ministry the target of 2028 to complete and inaugurate its first phase.
“We are looking at building the world’s best institution… I don’t believe in one of the best. So, while looking at the best, we are also looking at the best mind working for the institution. Best talent within the country, and the best talent that is available across the world, has to be brought in, and in a way that partnerships emerge as sustainable partnerships,” he said.
He said the idea is to have a collaboration where strong Indian leadership in architecture and design should combine with strong leadership from across the globe, and help “deliver us a great cultural institution”.
“With the same spirit, we are inviting vendors and developers from across the globe to come and work with us,” Aggarwal said.
Billed to be the largest museum in the world, it will have eight thematic segments telling the story of India spanning over 5,000 years.
The new museum, to be housed in the North Block and the South Block in the heart of the country’s capital, will cover an area of nearly 1.5 lakh sqm with 950 rooms spread over a basement and three storeys, officials earlier said.
While the North Block, which earlier housed the home ministry, the finance ministry and other government departments, has been vacated, the South Block too, barring a few offices, has also been largely vacated.
The minister in May had also emphasised that the plan is to maintain the design of the original rooms and their architectural sanctity, but “some changes” will be made that are necessary from the perspective of setting up a museum by adaptively reusing an old structure.
He had shared that the kinds of experts – a heritage architect and a museologist – who were needed for the project to convert the two Blocks into a museum were selected through a global-level tender, and several consortia participated in it.
The secretary, in his address, termed it a “win-win situation” for both the Indian government and the potential partners.
“Besides, we are working on a humongous scale.. seeking modernisation of the National Museum in Delhi and the ASI museums,” he added. PTI KND KND MNK MNK
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