India opens a museum with the world's largest exhibition area in the capital city of New Delhi

The Indian government announced that a large museum with the world's largest exhibition area introducing Indian history and civilization will be built in New Delhi, the capital of India.

According to the AFP news agency on the 12th, the Indian government, led by Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said this the day before when it approved the museum construction project, which was first announced in 2023 and then delayed.

The name of the museum is ‘Yuge Yugeen Bharat’, which translates to ‘India through the ages’. 'Bharat' is the ancient Sanskrit name of India.

The museum will be located on the site of former government buildings known as 'North Block' and 'South Block' in New Delhi.

The old government building was designed by British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker in the 1920s during the British colonial era.

The Indian government said in a statement the day before that when the museum is completed, the building's total floor area and exhibition area will reach approximately 178,509 m2 and 100,000 m2, respectively.

Looking at the exhibition areas of some of the world's largest museums, an Indian government official explained that Louvre is 73,000 m2, the British Museum is 70,000 m2, and the Hermitage Museum is 66,800 m2.

The Indian government went on to add that the Yuge Yugin Bharat Museum was "conceived as a monumental museum of civilization that showcases the continuity, diversity and richness of the cultural heritage of Bharat."

The museum's first exhibition hall is expected to open in late 2027, and the entire museum facility is scheduled to be completed in fiscal year 2030-2031 (April 2030-March 2031).

A total project cost of 340 million dollars (approximately 450 billion won) will be invested, and approximately 1.8 million artifacts will be displayed when completed. The museum was designed to accommodate 30,000 visitors per day.

The Modi government's approval for the construction of this museum is part of an effort to erase traces of British colonial rule over India that lasted for about 200 years and emphasize India's identity.

Prime Minister Modi has taken several related measures since taking office as Prime Minister in May 2014.

For example, to commemorate Vallabhbhai Patel (1875-1950), who contributed to the unification of the kingdoms of India, a 182-meter-tall statue, the world's tallest, was completed and opened to the public in 2018.

Patel, who led the independence movement with Mahatma Gandhi, served as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister immediately after independence in 1947.

In addition, we supported the redevelopment of New Delhi's historic administrative district, and decided to leave the Federal Parliament building built during colonial rule as is and build a new parliament building to be completed in 2023. Currently, legislative activities are taking place in the new Capitol.