NEW DELHI: The upcoming Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum (YYBM) will feature at least 30 galleries of varying sizes, including immersive indoor and outdoor spaces with courtyards, to display rare artefacts from the existing National Museum as well as collections sourced from across the country.
According to the Ministry of Culture, preparations are underway to shortlist exhibits, contextualize artefacts, and develop a content narrative that is “historically accurate, accessible, and aligned with the larger vision” of the museum.
Officials familiar with the project have indicated that more than 25,000 artefacts — representing 5,000 years of India’s civilization — will be showcased in thematic galleries. The ministry will create a gallery-wise list of objects, complete with provenance details, before coordinating with relevant agencies to arrange for their transfer or borrowing.
The galleries will be designed to present interconnected themes that span across time periods and regions, highlighting India’s plurality and continuity through carefully curated collections, narratives, and immersive experiences. The ministry is ready with an indicative gallery concept with suggestive collection of 13 artefacts such as Indus Valley Terracotta Hourglass (2500–1750 BCE), Konark Sun Wheel (13th Century CE), Maurya Edict Pillar Fragment (3rd Century BCE), Gupta-Period Surya Sculpture (5th Century CE), and Chola-period Nataraja Bronze (10th–11th Century CE).
Total gallery area including exhibition spaces will be 60,000 sqm.
To conduct theme-based historical and cultural research to develop gallery narratives, it will engage a specialist consultant, in alignment with international and national museological standards; ICOM Code of Ethics, UNESCO conventions, and ministry’s protocols.
Officials said that the content of the museum would play a central role in shaping how visitors engage with India’s past, present and future. The work to draw up visual and architectural elements; designs of galleries including immersive indoor and outdoor exhibition spaces of the YYBM to be developed in the precinct of about century-old heritage structures—North and South Blocks--have already begun.
The efforts are underway to ensure seamless integration between architectural design, exhibition design, and visitor experience. The plan, outlining all essential museum components including visitor services, educational spaces, library, auditoriums, performance area, collection storage, and conservation laboratories, is expected to be ready soon.
Spanning approximately 1.55 lakh square meters (sqm), the upcoming project is an integral part of the Central Vista Redevelopment, involving the adaptive reuse and transformation of the early 20th-century Blocks into museum spaces. The Government is expecting an estimated footfall of 10 million every year.