The museum will occupy the North and South Blocks and is expected to feature the world's largest display area.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved a Rs 3,230-crore development plan on Wednesday for the Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum (YYBM) in New Delhi. According to reports from The Times of India, ANI, and India Today, the museum will be housed in the historic North and South Blocks on Raisina Hill.
The project will be implemented in phases from the 2026-27 financial year to 2030-31, with a scheduled completion date of March 2031. The museum is expected to have a display area of 1 lakh square metres, which would exceed the display areas of the Louvre and the British Museum.
The museum will be spread over a built-up area of approximately 1,78,509 square metres. Officials stated that around 1.8 million objects have been identified from the National Museum, 52 Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) site museums, various state museums, and private collections to be displayed.
The first inaugural gallery, themed on 'adornment', is expected to open in the North Block by the end of 2027. Other planned themes include Architecture and Cityscapes, Mathematics and Astronomy, Languages and Scripts, Faith and Spirituality, and Bharat Connects - Trade and Ideas.
Information Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters that the museum aims to present India's civilisational journey using modern technology while maintaining the architectural integrity of the two buildings. The museum is designed to handle up to one crore visitors a year.
