National Council of Science Museums


National Council of Science Museums is an autonomous organisation under Indian Ministry of Culture. It is the largest chain of science centers or museums under a single administrative umbrella in the world. There are 24 own science centers or museums and one R & D laboratory and Training centre of NCSM, located in different states in India. Functioning under the Ministry of Culture, the NCSM has been built to co-ordinate all informal science communication activities in the museum space in the country. Its raison d’etre is specified on the website as described in the section ‘Genesis’:
The first science museum, Birla Industrial and Technological Museum, Kolkata under CSIR43, was opened on May 2, 1959. In July 1965, the second science museum of the country, the Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum was opened in Bangalore. After Kolkata and Bangalore, the work for the third centre at Mumbai was taken up in 1974. As the popularisation of science and technology through the Science Museums grew in scope and size, the Union Planning Commission constituted a Task Force in early 1970’s to assess the activities of the Science Museums. Task Force recommended to set up Science Museums in different parts of the country at National, State and District levels and also recommended formation of a central coordinating agency. In 1978, it was decided by the Government of India to delink from CSIR the two science museums already operating at Kolkata and Bangalore and also the one being set up at Mumbai and put them under a newly formed Society registered on April 4, 1978 as National Council of Science Museums.

Own Units

Former Director Generals

  • Saroj Ghose
  • Ingit Kumar Mukhopadhyay
  • Ganga Singh Rautela
  • Anil S. Manekar
  • K.G. Kumar
  • National Science Centre, Delhi, inaugurated on 9 January 1992
  • Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai, inaugurated on 11 November 1985
  • Science City, Kolkata, fully operational since 1 July 1997
  • Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, Bangalore, operational since 1965

    Science Centres developed for different state governments

  • Upcoming science centres

    • NCSM is now developing science centres at the following places in India with collaboration by the respective State Governments.