India's Cabinet Approves Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum: Rs 32.3 Billion to Turn New Delhi's North and South Blocks Into the World's Largest Museum Display Space
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved on November 11 the development of the Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum inside the North Block and South Block complex in New Delhi, at an estimated total project cost of Rs 3,230 crore (Rs 32.3 billion). India's Ministry of Culture will develop the museum through the adaptive reuse of the two historic buildings.
The North and South Blocks are the Secretariat buildings designed by Herbert Baker and completed in 1931, long home to central ministries including Finance and Home Affairs. The Indian government says the conversion will preserve the buildings' architectural and heritage character while turning them into a landmark civilizational museum showcasing the continuity, diversity and richness of India's heritage.
Under the approved plan, the museum will have a built-up area of about 178,509 square metres and a display area of more than 100,000 square metres, which the Indian government says will make it the museum with the largest display area in the world. Indian media put the comparison figures at about 73,000 square metres for the Louvre in Paris, 70,000 for the British Museum in London and 66,800 for the Hermitage in St Petersburg. Around 1.8 million objects have been identified for possible display, drawn from the National Museum, 52 site museums of the Archaeological Survey of India, state collections and private holdings.
The museum is designed for 30,000 visitors a day and 10 million visitors a year. The project will be implemented in phases from fiscal 2026-27 to 2030-31, and the first gallery, on the theme of Adornment, is expected to open in the North Block in the latter part of 2027. The museum was announced by Modi on May 18, 2023, during the International Museum Expo, and the proposal was appraised by the Public Investment Board on July 27, 2026.
(Source: Press Information Bureau, Government of India)
Source: Press Information Bureau, Government of India
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于新德里的印度中央秘书处北区大楼（2018年摄，已预裁为16:9横幅），该建筑群将被改建为 Yuge Yugeen Bharat 博物馆。照片：CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The North Block of India's Central Secretariat in New Delhi in 2018 (pre-cropped to 16:9); the complex is to be converted into the Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
