Indian government plans to convert the Central Secretariat in New Delhi into what officials have described as the world’s largest museum, a proposal that would place tens of thousands of artefacts inside the North and South Blocks of the red‑stone complex.
The project, reported in national media, envisages using about 950 rooms within the Secretariat to display an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 objects under the working name Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum, a title the reports say means “everlasting India” in Sanskrit. The plan would replace the existing National Museum in Delhi and follows decisions to relocate many government offices from the century‑old complex.
The red‑stone Secretariat complex, built during British imperial rule and used by India’s government since independence in 1947, comprises the North and South Blocks and is estimated to contain some 4,000 rooms in total. Officials have already begun work on new office accommodation nearby and a new parliament building has been completed in recent years, part of a broader relocation of central government functions.
Details on the museum’s timeline, budget, curatorial plan and the provenance or selection criteria for the artefacts have not been released. Government spokespeople have so far provided few specifics in public statements, and it was not immediately clear when conversion work might begin or which departments would oversee the project.
Former and current users of the Secretariat described cramped and improvised internal arrangements as a factor in the relocation. Neelam Deo, a former foreign service official, told reporters that “new rooms used to be carved out of the wide corridors,” and that staff had sometimes found bathrooms installed beneath staircases to create additional workspace. By contrast, former diplomat K.P. Fabian described the building’s exterior as “awe‑inspiring.”
Supporters of the proposal have framed the museum as an opportunity to reimagine a prominent civic site that many see as a reminder of colonial rule, while providing expanded public display space for India’s archaeological, artistic and historical collections. The project would create a single, centralized venue for a large portion of the nation’s displayed cultural heritage, consolidating and potentially expanding public access beyond what the existing National Museum currently offers.
Experts in museum practice caution that large‑scale conversions of administrative buildings require extensive study to address issues of conservation, climate control, accessibility and visitor circulation. Converting administrative offices into gallery space typically involves significant retrofitting to provide humidity and light controls suitable for sensitive objects, as well as secure storage and curatorial facilities.
The Secretariat conversion plan follows a series of recent infrastructure projects in the national capital that have reshaped New Delhi’s ceremonial axis, including the new parliament building and contemporary office complexes intended to replace older accommodations. Officials have emphasized modern, glass‑and‑steel designs for the new administrative buildings while leaving the red‑stone Secretariat’s façade and presence in Lutyens’ Delhi as focal points for the proposed museum.
Reporting on the museum plan has so far drawn largely on accounts published in national newspapers. Further announcements from the central government are expected to provide more detailed plans on financing, the curatorial team, timelines and the number and provenance of artefacts to be transferred or acquired for the displays.