Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Opens Three-Day State Conclave for Yuga Yugeen Bharat Museum
Union Minister of Culture and Tourism, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat inaugurated a three-day ‘State Museum Conclave on the upcoming Yuga Yugeen Bharat Museum’, organized by the Ministry of Culture, from 1st to 3rd August, 2024, at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. This three-day gathering aims to foster collaboration among State Museums and the Central Government in realizing the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi’s vision for the ‘Yuga Yugeen Bharat Museum’ that aims to exemplify global best practices. To foster a comprehensive understanding of India’s artefact wealth for the ‘Yuga Yugeen Bharat Museum’, the States have been invited to provide detailed insights into their respective State’s collections at the forthcoming State Conclave.
Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister said that this Conclave being attended by a diverse group of stakeholders, including Resident Commissioners, Directors of Museums, Superintendents, Curators, Professors and Researchers from across the country is the third phase in a series of capacity-building initiatives undertaken by the GLAM Division of the Ministry of Culture. The inter-ministerial consultations were held on 14th June, 2024 and the subsequent collaborative workshop with museum professionals-directors, curators, education officers and conservators was held in partnership with France Museums from 25th-29th June, 2024. Through these capacity-building workshops led by renowned Indian and international museum professionals, the ministry aims to equip state-level personnel with essential skills in collection management, archiving, and museum administration, stated the minister.
The minister expressed hope that the 3-day State conclave will further strengthen the museum ecosystem in India and will offer hands-on training and opportunities for experience sharing with potential collaborators for the ‘Yuga Yugeen Bharat Museum’ (YYBM) project. With the spirit of cooperative federalism and whole of Government approach, the knowledge gleaned through these deliberations will be instrumental in shaping the development of the YYBM museum as ‘the wonder of the world’, in line with Bharat’s vision- ‘Vikas Bhi, Virasat Bhi’ the Minister added.
To support state-level museum development initiatives, the Ministry of Culture will also present an overview of available funding schemes, including the recently updated Museum Grant Scheme and the Scheme for Promotion of Culture of Science, during the three-day Conclave.
Yuga Yugeen Bharat Museum
The Yuga Yugeen Bharat Museum is set to come up at North and South Block as part of the Central Vista Redevelopment project that seeks to revamp India’s central administrative area located near Raisina Hill, New Delhi. The museum will be spread over 1,54,000 sqm, making it the largest museum in the world. The video walk through for the museum was first unveiled by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at the inauguration of the first International Museum Expo organized by the GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums) Division of the Ministry of Culture on 18.05.2023 and was reiterated during the inauguration of the Bharat Mandapam in July 2023.
The Museum will be developed through Adaptive Reuse, in collaboration with France owing to their expertise in similar projects such as the Louvre, which too housed the French Ministry of Finance. The French are partners for this project owing to the long-standing friendship between the two countries, which had contributed to a Letter of Intent being signed between both governments in 2020 that emphasised Museum & Heritage Co-operation.