The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the development of the Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum at the North and South Block complex in New Delhi at an estimated cost of Rs 3,230 crore, IANS reported.

Source: IANS via HiIndia

Prime Minister Modi welcomed the decision, saying the museum would transform the historic buildings into a magnificent celebration of India's civilisational journey and would be set to have the world's largest museum display area.

Source: IANS via NewKerala

The museum will be developed through the adaptive reuse of the iconic North and South Block buildings on Raisina Hill, preserving their heritage and architectural significance while giving them a new public cultural role, according to the government release. The proposed built-up area is around 1,78,509 square metres.

Thematic galleries are planned on subjects including Architecture and Cityscapes, Mathematics and Astronomy, Languages and Scripts, Faith and Spirituality, and 'Bharat Connects: Trade and Ideas', using contemporary museum practices, immersive technologies and visitor-centric displays, the release said.

Source: IANS via HiIndia

Implementation will take place in phases from FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31. The first gallery, themed 'Adornment', is expected to open to the public in North Block in the latter half of 2027.

Source: India Today via News89

Prime Minister Modi first announced the museum on May 18, 2023, during the International Museum Expo. North and South Blocks, which flank Rashtrapati Bhavan, housed key ministries for nearly a century before the government began shifting administrative operations to the new Seva Teerth and Kartavya Bhavan complexes earlier this year.