Centre invites bids to select architect for proposed Yuge Yugeen Bharat museum

To kick-start work on the ambitious Yuge Yugeen Bharat museum, which will be housed in the iconic twin building complex of North and South Blocks located on top of the national capital's Raisina Hill, the present seat of administration, the Centre has invited bids for a consultant, who will envisage the architectural and exhibition outline of the proposed complex.

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The request for proposal (RFP) for selecting a consultant to provide comprehensive museum design services for Yuge Yugeen Bharat museum was floated by the Ministry of Culture on July 9 and the last date for submitting the bids is August 1. The bids will be opened on August 2.

Spanning approximately 1,55,000 square meters, the museum is an integral part of the Central Vista redevelopment project, involving the adaptive reuse and transformation of the iconic North and South Blocks in New Delhi into museum spaces.

It will replace the world famous National Museum, whose artefacts will be moved to the proposed site, sources privy to developments informed. This ambitious project aims to create a world-class museum celebrating India's cultural, historical, and civilizational heritage, while preserving the architectural integrity of these iconic buildings, the RPF document reads.

The appointed lead consultant and their multi-disciplinary team (including expertise in heritage

adaptive reuse, and exhibition design) will provide a design proposal and be responsible for end-to-end architecture and exhibition design services.

The Yuge Yugeen Bharat museum is a flagship project designed as a leading cultural institution, celebrating India's timeless story. Inspired by Indian ideas of aesthetics and materiality, it aims to showcase the nation's profound civilisational progress, encompassing ancient wisdom, diverse traditions, and cultural continuity.

The museum will showcase Indian art and heritage from antiquity to modernity, representing all regions and their unique artistic and cultural expressions.

This expansive complex will integrate art spaces with immersive experiences, visitor engagement and centres for educational programmes highlighting India's rich heritage and its unbroken journey through time.

The museum is expected to have an estimated footfall of 10 million visitors per annum. It seeks to honour the evolution of the idea of Bharat itself, as well as its global influence.

The “Time and Timelessness” gallery, to be housed within the Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum at the historic North and South Blocks in New Delhi, is envisioned as a profound interpretive space that explores Bharat’s unique civilizational relationship with time, spanning over centuries of cultural,

philosophical, and scientific evolution.

Through a curated confluence of artefacts, narratives, and immersive design, the gallery will seek to

present ‘Time and Timelessness’ as both an object of scientific precision and a subject of metaphysical wonder. It aims to illuminate how India’s indigenous conceptions of time have shaped and sustained one of the world’s oldest continuous civilisations, while remaining profoundly

relevant in the contemporary imagination.

The gallery is expected to showcase a carefully curated selection of artefacts representing different dimensions of time like instruments (Sundials, astrolabes, water clocks and astronomical manuscripts); manuscripts and texts (Palm-leaf Pañcāṅgas, Āryabhaṭīya excerpts, cosmological diagrams); sculptural works (Natarāja bronzes, depictions of Surya, Vishnu, or mythic time cycles); visual culture (textile scrolls, mural fragments, illustrated manuscripts); and inscriptions and edicts (Time-stamped records, calendrical references, epoch inscriptions).

The gallery will also highlight artefacts like the Indus Valley Terracotta Hourglass (c. 2500–1750 BCE), Konark Sun Wheel (c. 13th Century CE), Maurya Edict Pillar Fragment (c. 3rd Century BCE) and a Gupta-Period Surya Sculpture (c. 5th Century CE) among others.

As part of the revamping of the North and South Blocks into the Yuge Yugeen Bharat museum, the twin building complex will undergo phased restoration and once completed, this museum will be the largest in the world, spanning 117,000 square meters with 950 rooms. It will replace the National Museum of India as the country’s national museum and will be housed within the historic Secretariat buildings. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is leading the restoration process, starting with the North Block.

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD), working under MoHUA, has already secured approval from the Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC) for the project. This approval followed detailed submissions addressing the panel's queries during a meeting held on October 24, 2024.

Restoration efforts will be carried out in phases. The timeline for vacating the blocks is being finalised, with retrofitting and refurbishment beginning after the North Block is cleared. The HCC has outlined strict guidelines to maintain the buildings' original heritage character. These include preserving their colour, form, and materials, and avoiding external modifications like heat-resistant paint on terraces.

Over the decades, the blocks have been partitioned internally to create additional office space. Currently, the North Block houses key ministries, including Home, Finance, and Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions.

The National Museum’s Content Committee is actively selecting objects for display to align with the museum's themes and storyline. In July last year, the Centre had informed Parliament that it has not yet taken any decision on the existing building of the National Museum.

In response to a question from the then TMC Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar, Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat had informed the Upper House that the Yuge Yugeen Bharat museum is likely to have artefacts from not only the National Museum but also from other museums in India.