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"Culture in many ways is the essence of soft power," Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said as India and France signed what he called "a project of great national importance" - a museum, the world's largest, which will be located on Raisina Hill - just in front of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The museum, named 'Yuga Yugeen Bharat National Museum' will tell the story of India - a timeline spanning more than 5,000 years.
It will be located on Raisina Hill - the seat of the Central government. The museum will be housed in the North Block and South Block buildings, which are currently the address of the foreign ministry, home ministry, defence ministry, finance ministry, and several other ministerial offices.
The museum - a project of national heritage, prestige, and importance - will cover an area of 1.17 lakh square metres with 950 rooms spread over a basement and three storeys. In his speech after India and France signed the agreement, Mr Jaishankar said "What is being seen today is a very important expression of international cooperation, one that is built on exchanges of best practices, on sharing of experiences."
"We are gathered here today for a project of great national importance...When the South Block and North Block become the kind of museum that is envisaged, I think we will veritably be seeing an inspiration for the remaking of Bharat."
The Raisina Hill, which houses the two identical blocks facing each other and the Rashtrapati Bhavan next so them were designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker between 1911-1931.
France, which wanted to be a part of this mega project, has a similar history with respect to its renowned museum - The Louvre - and hence has global expertise in adaptive reuse of historic buildings of archeological significance.
The Louvre (and its old wings) too were a part of a grand palatial building in France's capital Paris and the French finance ministry used to be housed in a wing of the palatial structure which we now see as the world-famous museum and landmark.
The mapping work and blueprints have nearly been completed in the North Block and it is currently being carried out throughout the South Block, Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said.
Here is an illustration video shared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his YouTube page highlighting the salient features of the world's largest museum to-be - the Yuga Yugeen Bharat National Museum:
As per a government release, the Yuga Yugeen Bharat National Museum aims to redefine the museum experience, offering a platform that celebrates India's heritage while embracing contemporary narratives. An official announcement is yet to be made about the completion of the project and subsequently its grand opening.