Vigyan Bhawan ("science building") is a premier

conference centre A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. Built in 1956, over the years it has been the venue of conferences of national and international stature, seminars and award ceremonies attended by distinguished world leaders and dignitaries, including

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM; or) is a biennial summit meeting of the governmental leaders from all Commonwealth nations. Despite the name, the head of state may be present in the meeting instead of the head of go ...

( CHOGM) in 1983, 7th Summit of the

Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide. The movement originated in the aftermath o ...

( NAM), March 7–12, 1983, and

SAARC The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, ...

Summit. It is managed by the Directorate of Estates, under the

Ministry of Urban Development The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is a ministry of the Government of India with executive authority over the formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to the housing and urban development in Ind ...

, and maintained by CPWD. It only holds National-level functions and conferences, and functions by the Government of India, State Governments, PSUs and Autonomous Bodies order by priority given. It is allotted to NGOs/Private Enterprises where either the President, Vice President or the

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

are present. It also holds various award ceremonies, including the annual

National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

Architecture

The main building was designed in 1955 by R.P.Gehlote of

Central Public Works Department The Central Public Works Department (Hindi: केंद्रीय लोक निर्माण विभाग), commonly referred to as the CPWD, is a premier Central Government authority in charge of public sector works. The Central Public ...

(

CPWD The Central Public Works Department (Hindi: केंद्रीय लोक निर्माण विभाग), commonly referred to as the CPWD, is a premier Central Government authority in charge of public sector works. The Central Public ...

) belonging to Jaipur, incorporating elements of

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

architecture, evident in the nearby buildings of the Secretariat Building and of

Lutyens' Delhi Lutyens' Delhi is an area in New Delhi, India, named after the British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869–1944), who was responsible for much of the architectural design and building during the period of the British Raj, when India was part o ...

along with

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and Mughal architecture, as well as ancient

Buddhist architecture Buddhist religious architecture developed in the Indian subcontinent. Three types of structures are associated with the religious architecture of early Buddhism: monasteries ( viharas), places to venerate relics (stupas), and shrines or prayer ha ...

, especially the ''

chaitya A chaitya, chaitya hall, chaitya-griha, (Sanskrit:''Caitya''; Pāli: ''Cetiya'') refers to a shrine, sanctuary, temple or prayer hall in Indian religions. The term is most common in Buddhism, where it refers to a space with a stupa and a rounded ...

'' arches of

Ajanta Caves The Ajanta Caves are approximately thirty rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments dating from the second century BCE to about 480 CE in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state in India. The caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures des ...

. The overall style of the building remains modernistic with revivalist elements.

Overview

The main feature of the complex is the Plenary hall, with a seating capacity of over 1200(922+326+37) delegates, besides it has six smaller halls with capacities ranging from over 65 delegates to over 375 delegates. The building also has a VIP Lounge, the Office block for on-site offices, secretariat and a documentation centre, a Studio, a Business centre and an

Exhibition hall A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

. The adjacent building is called the Vigyan Bhavan Annexe added later on with four Committee Rooms and a separate Media centre. The annexe also houses the

Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region is a Government of India ministry, established in September 2001, which functions as the nodal Department of the Central Government to deal with matters related to the socio-economic developm ...

(MDoNER) of

and

INVEST INDIA Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing i ...

, the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency. The Vigyan Bhawan Annexe stands adjacent to the

Vice President House Vice President's House ( IAST: ''Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas'') is the official residence of the Vice President of India, located on Maulana Azad Road in New Delhi, India. History From May 1962, the bungalow serves as official residence of Vice Presi ...

. F&B services at 'The Atrium' at the centre are managed by the

Ashok Group The Ashok Group is a chain of hotels owned and operated as Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) of the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) in India. The Group is headquartered in New Delhi * The Ashok, Delhi (Built in 1956, the property ...

of the

India Tourism Development Corporation The India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) is a hospitality, retail and education company owned by Government of India, under Ministry of Tourism. Established in 1966, it owns over 17 properties under the Ashok Group of Hotels brand, acros ...

(

ITDC The India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) is a hospitality, retail and education company owned by Government of India, under Ministry of Tourism. Established in 1966, it owns over 17 properties under the Ashok Group of Hotels brand, acro ...

).
ITDC website. As a part of

Central Vista Redevelopment Project Central Vista Redevelopment Project refers to the ongoing redevelopment to revamp the Central Vista, India's central administrative area located near Raisina Hill, New Delhi. The area was originally designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herber ...

, Vigyan Bhavan will be demolished and a new Central Conference Center will be built besides National Archives.

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Vigyan Bhavan
at ''Directorate of Estates''
Vigyan Bhawan
at ''

wikimapia Wikimapia is a geographic online encyclopedia project. The project implements an interactive "clickable" web map that utilizes Google Maps with a geographically-referenced wiki system, with the aim to mark and describe all geographical objects ...

'' Infrastructure completed in 1956 Convention centres in India 1956 establishments in Delhi Government buildings in Delhi