Cabinet approves Development of Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum at North and South Block Complex, New Delhi
PIB National (English) · Published 11 November 2026 · Last updated
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the establishment of the Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum at the North and South Block Complex with a total project cost of ₹3,230 crore.
Key points
- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, approved the development of the Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum on 11 November 2026.
- The museum will be established at the historic North and South Block Complex in New Delhi at an estimated total project cost of ₹3,230 crore.
- The project is appraised by the Public Investment Board and will be implemented in a phased manner from FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31.
- Spanning a proposed built-up area of approximately 1,78,509 square metres, it is benchmarked as the museum with the largest display area in the world.
- The project will incorporate around 1.8 Million objects identified from the National Museum, other Ministry of Culture Museums, 52 ASI site museums, and private collections.
- The first inaugural gallery focusing on the theme of Adornment is scheduled to open to the public in the North Block in the later part of 2027.
- Galleries are planned around themes including Architecture and Cityscapes, Mathematics and Astronomy, Languages and Scripts, Faith and Spirituality, and Bharat Connects - Trade and Ideas.
- The institution is designed to handle a projected visitor flow of 1 crore visitors in a year while generating recurring revenue through various visitor services.
Background
- The establishment of the Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum was initially announced by the Prime Minister on 18 May 2023.
- The project proposal received formal appraisal by the Public Investment Board on 27 July 2026, following which the Ministry of Culture concurred with its recommendations.
- The historic North and South Block buildings became available for adaptive reuse following the relocation of government offices.
Prelims facts and Mains angle for this issue are in the full SWAदेSH note.
Original report: PIB National (English)