Lok Sabha Question No. 1080 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-08
Subject: Mobile Science Exhibition Van
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Bhagwanth Khuba

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1080

TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.02.2021

## MOBILE SCIENCE EXHIBITION VAN

1080. SHRI BHAGWANTH KHUBA:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is a fact that the Government is going to start a new institute which will offer the MA, PhD, diploma and certification courses in History of art, Conservation, Musicology etc; if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether it is a fact that the Government provides Mobile Science Exhibition van to the States;
- (c) if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the number of Mobile Science Exhibition vans that were allotted during the last 5 years, State and UT-wise details thereof; and
- (e) whether the Government has any plan to give Mobile Science Exhibition Van to all the states in the coming days if so, the details thereof and if not, the reason thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF EDUCATION

(SHRI RAMESH POKHRIYAL 'NISHANK')

(a) : It was announced in Union budget 2020-21 that an Indian Institute of Heritage (IIH) will be established under Ministry of Culture. The proposed Indian Institute of Heritage (IIH) would conduct various courses/programs in the fields of Archaeology, Conservation, Archives, Museology, Curation, Epigraphy, Manuscriptology and allied fields. As per the information received from Ministry of Culture, as on 1 st February 2021, the administrative structure of the Institute is being finalised.

(b) and (c) : Ministry of Culture has further informed that Government of India does not provide any Mobile Science Exhibition Van to the States. Rather National Council of Science Museums, working under the aegis of Ministry of Culture, Government of India operates 48 Mobile Science Exhibition (MSE) buses all over the country, from its units spread across India, which includes 25 MSE buses launched during 2019-2020 for aspirational districts.

During 2019-2020, these buses have covered 2042 sites in various States of which 25 MSE buses have coved 1161 sites in 45 Aspirational districts before the programmes were temporarily suspended in March, 2020 due to the COVID-19, pandemic.

(d) and (e) : As mentioned above National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) does not allot any Mobile Science Exhibition (MSE) bus to any State/UT. The MSE buses are directly operated by NCSM. The list of deployment of MSE buses in States/ UTs is given as under:

| S.No.   | Name of the Science Centres / Museums/ Cities              | No. of New MSE Buses Deployed in Aspirational districts   | No. of regular MSE Buses Deployed in various States/UTs in India   | State/UTs        |
|---------|------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------|
| 1.      | Birla Industrial &Technological Museum, Kolkata            | 1                                                         | 2                                                                  | West Bengal      |
| 2.      | Shrikrishna Science Centre, Patna                          | 2                                                         | 1                                                                  | Bihar            |
| 3.      | North Bengal Science Centre, Siliguri                      | 1                                                         | 1                                                                  | West Bengal      |
| 4.      | District Science Centre, Purulia                           | 2                                                         | 1                                                                  | West Bengal      |
| 5.      | Bardhaman Science Centre, Bardhaman                        | 1                                                         | 1                                                                  | West Bengal      |
| 6.      | Digha Science Centre                                       | 1                                                         |                                                                    | West Bengal      |
| 7.      | National Science Centre, Delhi                             | Nil                                                       | 1                                                                  | NCR, Delhi       |
| 8.      | Regional Science City, Lucknow                             | 2                                                         | 1                                                                  | Uttar Pradesh    |
| 9.      | Kurukshetra Panorama &Science Centre, Kurukshetra          | 1                                                         | 1                                                                  | Haryana          |
| 10.     | Palampur Science Centre                                    | Nil                                                       | Nil                                                                | Himachal Pradesh |
| 11.     | Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai                               | 1                                                         | 1                                                                  | Maharashtra      |
| 12.     | Raman Science Centre, Nagpur                               | 1                                                         | 1                                                                  | Maharashtra      |
| 13.     | Regional Science Centre, Bhopal                            | 2                                                         | 1                                                                  | Madhya Pradesh   |
| 14.     | District Science Centre , Dharampur                        | 1                                                         | 1                                                                  | Gujarat          |
| 15.     | Goa Science Centre, Panaji                                 | Nil                                                       | 1                                                                  | Goa              |
| 16.     | Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum , Bangalore | 1                                                         | 1                                                                  | Karnataka        |
| 17.     | Regional Science Centre , Tirupati                         | 1                                                         | 1                                                                  | Andhra Pradesh   |
| 18.     | District Science Centre , Gulbarga                         | 1                                                         | 1                                                                  | Karnataka        |
| 19.     | District Science Centre , Tirunelveli                      | 1                                                         | 1                                                                  | Tamil Nadu       |
| 20.     | Regional Science Centre &Planetarium, Calicut              | 1                                                         | 1                                                                  | Kerala           |
| 21.     | Regional Science Centre , Bhubaneswar                      | 1                                                         | 2                                                                  | Odisha           |
| 22.     | Dhenkanal Science Centre, Dhenkanal                        | 1                                                         | 1                                                                  | Odisha           |
| 23.     | Regional Science Centre , Guwahati                         | 2                                                         | 1                                                                  | Assam            |
|         | Total                                                      | 25                                                        | 23                                                                 |                  |

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