National Museum of Mankind- Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya

What National Museum of Mankind- Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya does

Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS), also branded as the National Museum of Humankind, is an autonomous cultural institution established on 21 March 1977 under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Headquartered on a 200-acre campus at Shamla Hills, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, it operates as a living-culture museum rather than a traditional collection-based institution, presenting India's ethnographic diversity through open-air exhibitions (Tribal Habitat, Himalayan Village, Coastal Village, Desert Village, Sacred Groves, Rock Art Heritage, Traditional Technology Park, Mythological Trail, River Valley Cultures), the dome-shaped indoor Veethi Sankul with twelve galleries, and the Aavriti Bhawan exhibition and conference complex. IGRMS holds wide-ranging ethnographic collections spanning textiles, rock art, musical instruments, weapons, agricultural tools, basketry, ornaments, ritual objects, and household items drawn from tribal and folk communities across India, including 26 on-campus rock shelters with Mesolithic and Chalcolithic paintings — a feature the institution cites as unique among world museums.

IGRMS serves five primary user segments: general public visitors, researchers and academicians, school and university students, indigenous and local communities engaged through co-management, and museum professionals seeking training in museology. Its business model is non-commercial: the institution is government-funded through the Ministry of Culture, supplemented by research grants from international organizations including the World Bank, UNDP, UNICEF, GIZ, JICA, EU, ICSSR, DST, and MOEFCC. Revenue-bearing activities, where they exist, include nominal visitor entry fees, online e-ticket bookings via igrms.org.in, and academic programme fees such as the newly launched PGDM in Museum Studies (AY 2026-27). The institution operates academic programmes, workshops, symposia, cultural festivals, and an international curatorship course jointly organized with the Indian Institute of Indology and Museumology (IIIM). There is no proprietary technology stack or commercial pricing model; the institution's value proposition rests on its regulatory mandate, irreplaceable ethnographic collection, on-campus infrastructure, and community-engaged curatorial approach.

Name

National Museum of Mankind- Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya

Legal name

Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya

Website

https://igrms.org.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS) is a government-funded living-culture museum in Bhopal, India, operating on a 200-acre campus under the Ministry of Culture to preserve and display India's tribal and folk ethnographic heritage through open-air and indoor exhibitions serving visitors, researchers, students, and indigenous communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Museum

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Museums (712110), Historical Sites (71212)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations) (THAJADAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cultural Heritage & Indigenous-Led Visitor Services (Tribal Tours, Heritage Sites, Co-management) (THAAAGAL), Performing Arts & Cultural Event Venues (Theaters, Museums) (THAHAAAG), Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit) (THAJADAH)

Keywords

• Ethnographic museum exhibits
• Cultural heritage preservation
• Open-air museum exhibitions
• Museum studies education
• Tribal art collections

Headquarters

HQ city

Bhopal

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

IGRMS operates a Living Culture Museum spread over 200 acres on Shamla Hills, Bhopal, providing open-air ethnographic exhibitions, indoor museum galleries, and community-based cultural programmes showcasing India's tribal and folk heritage. The institution preserves and exhibits tangible and intangible cultural assets, conducts academic programmes in museum studies and curatorship, and offers reference and research facilities for scholars and students. Core offerings include Open-Air Exhibitions (Tribal Habitat, Himalayan Village, Coastal Village, Desert Village, Sacred Groves, Rock Art Heritage, etc.), Veethi Sankul indoor museum with twelve galleries, Aavriti Bhawan, PGDM in Museum Studies, International Course on Curatorship, and a Reference Library.

Product overview

Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS) is a Living Culture Museum operated as an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. The institution offers a portfolio of interconnected museum products: (1) Open Air Exhibitions - over 12 thematic outdoor exhibitions including Tribal Habitat, Himalayan Village, Coastal Village, Desert Village, Sacred Groves, Rock Art Heritage, Traditional Technology Park, Mythological Trail, and River Valley Cultures; (2) Veethi Sankul - dome-shaped indoor museum with twelve galleries depicting bio-cultural evolution and human odyssey; (3) Aavriti Bhawan - gallery building with exhibition spaces, conference hall, and Bhopal Gallery. Supporting services include Academic Programmes, PGDM Programme, International Course on Curatorship, Online E-Ticket Booking, and Reference Library. The museum also maintains extensive ethnographic collections spanning textiles, rock art, musical instruments, weapons, agricultural tools, and ritual objects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Open-Air Exhibitions A portfolio of outdoor museum exhibitions spread across the 200-acre Shamla Hills campus showcasing authentic tribal dwellings and cultural landscapes from diverse Indian ecological zones, including Tribal Habitat, Himalayan Village, Coastal Village, Desert Village, Sacred Groves, Rock Art Heritage, Traditional Technology Park, Mythological Trail, River Valley Cultures, Kumhar Para, Aiyanaar Kovil Shrine, PAROL traditional gate, and KARAPAT Vaishnava Monastery Gate. Designed for general public visitors, school groups, researchers, and cultural enthusiasts seeking immersive exposure to India's tribal and folk heritage.
• Veethi Sankul Indoor Museum

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• IIIM (Indian Institute of Indology and Museumology)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJointly organized International Course on Curatorship and Rethinking Community Engagement. This academic partnership focuses on professional development in museum sciences and community engagement practices.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• National Museum, New Delhi: India's flagship national museum, also under the Ministry of Culture, presenting broad cultural collections. Most directly comparable Indian peer in scope, governance model, and visitor audience.
• Indian Museum, Kolkata: Oldest museum in India with significant ethnographic, anthropological, and art collections under the Ministry of Culture. Comparable in curatorial scope and government institutional setting.
• Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad: One of India's largest museums with diverse art, cultural, and ethnographic collections. Comparable in scale, visitor base, and breadth of cultural heritage holdings.
• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai: Major Mumbai-based museum combining art, archaeology, and natural history collections. Comparable as a large-scale Indian cultural institution serving diverse visitor segments.
• Madhya Pradesh Tribal Museum, Bhopal: State-level tribal heritage museum located in the same city as IGRMS. Directly comparable in tribal/indigenous cultural focus and target audience of cultural heritage visitors.
• Crafts Museum (National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum), New Delhi: Government museum focused on Indian folk crafts, textiles, and tribal material culture. Closely comparable to IGRMS in collection themes (textiles, basketry, ornaments, ritual objects) and rural/tribal community engagement.

Broad incumbents

• National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka: Japan's premier research museum for ethnology with global collections and academic programmes including postgraduate training. Comparable in research-led ethnographic mission and training offerings.
• National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian: Smithsonian museum dedicated to Native American heritage, including living cultures and co-curation with indigenous communities. Comparable in indigenous co-management approach and living-culture exhibition model.
• Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, Paris: France's national museum of non-European cultures, focused on ethnographic and indigenous arts. Internationally comparable as a large-scale ethnographic museum with research and exhibition mandate.

Emerging players

• National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi: Government museum under the same Ministry of Culture, focused on modern and contemporary Indian art. Comparable as a Ministry-of-Culture institution targeting cultural-heritage visitors, though with a narrower art-historical scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/igrms_bhopal
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@igrms
• Facebookfacebook.com/IGRMSBhopal
• Instagraminstagram.com/igrms_bhopal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/igrms

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Museum of Mankind- Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya