New Delhi, Apr 26 (PTI) Visitors to the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya in Delhi will soon be able to interact with AI-powered “hyper-realistic” 3D avatars of Mahatma Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, blending
an immersive experience of history with cutting-edge technology.
The project to bring the two eminent leaders in their AI avatars is in the "final stage", and follows the good response received from people to the introduction of the first such AI-driven interactive exhibit at the site of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel last September.
“We are working to bring extensive use of AI at the museum to enhance the experience of visitors. So we started with a life-size AI-powered Holobox of Sardar Patel, and then of ex-president A P J Abdul Kalam. Soon, we will bring similar avatars of Gandhi ji and Atal ji," Ashwani Lohani, Director at the Prime Ministers' Museum and Library (PMML), told PTI in an interview.
Asked about the status of the project, he said it is currently in its final stages and is expected to be launched by the end of May this year.
As the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya completed its four years on April 14, the PMML director, in an exclusive interaction with PTI, shared some of the other plans for the museum, which receives an average daily footfall of about 1,400-1,500.
The museum, which the government extensively promotes as a tourist site in Delhi, comprises a landmark building, originally constructed in 1929-30 as the residence of the then-commander-in-chief of the British military forces in India, which later became the abode of the first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and a new modern complex that was completed in 2022.
The new wing, constructed on a sunken site of the rear gardens of the sprawling campus of the museum, houses several galleries, including ones depicting the legacy of all the prime ministers of India.
In the old heritage building, galleries are dedicated to Nehru and the framing of the Constitution, reflecting India's evolution as a democratic nation.
Lohani, who had served as the chairman and managing director (CMD) of Air India and the chairman of the Railway Board, was appointed director of the PMML nearly a year ago.
A 1980-batch officer of the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering (IRSME), he is known for turning around various organisations during his illustrious career. He has retired from the IRSME service.
PMML is a unique institution preserving the legacy of all Indian prime ministers since Independence, besides serving as a repository of an extraordinary wealth of archival documents, especially private papers related to VVIPs and VVIP organisations, spanning over the last 100 years.
Former bureaucrat Lohani is, however, no stranger to preservation of cultural heritage, as a couple of decades ago, he was at the forefront of a project to revive and restore the legendary 'Fairy Queen' - the oldest working steam locomotive in the world.
A model of the 'Fairy Queen', originally built by Kitson, Thompson and Hewitson at Leeds in England in 1855 for the erstwhile East Indian Railway as 'EIR No. 22', and old photos of vintage locomotives adorn his office space at the museum complex.
Asked about the journey of the PMML in the last four years, Lohani said, “It has been great. The PMML is one of the kind museums in the world. Many visitors have started to come now, and we are intensifying the use of technology. This museum really reinforces the concept of democracy, which is the theme at its core."
Sharing some statistics, he said more than 6.4 lakh people visited the museum in the financial year 2025-26, showing its growing popularity.
Asked how much artificial intelligence (AI) has been integrated into its functioning when it comes to visitor experience, Lohani said that after launching the AI-powered Holobox of Sardar Patel on September 17 last year, and with AI avatars of Gandhi and ex-prime minister Vajpayee to follow soon, "we are looking at utilising AI to improve accessibility at the museum as well".
"We are engaging with a startup that took part in the recently held AI Summit in Delhi. The project explores the use of a smart glass embedded and linked with AI-based technology, which would describe persons or objects facing a visually challenged visitor and aid them with an audio commentary through a gadget," the director told PTI.
In the new building of the museum, visitors can also take an immersive 'helicopter ride' over some of the major infrastructure projects in the country -- a five-seater arrangement coupled with graphic visuals that lets people sitting inside it feel as if they are hovering over the site of these projects, which include the Atal Tunnel in Himachal Pradesh and the Chenab Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir.
Another gallery themed on national security -- 'Suraksha' -- offers visitors an immersive experience, showcasing the prowess of the armed forces, some of its key platforms and depicting some of the military actions carried out by India in the last few years, including Operation Sindoor and the Balakot airstrike.
In the new building, a visitor can choose to get 'clicked' with any of the prime ministers, from Nehru to Narendra Modi, as cutting-edge technology adds a realistic image of a prime minister sitting next to the visitor, which is then mailed to him/her by the staff member manning the booth.
Among the other additions to the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya campus in the past several months is a cafeteria facing the souvenir shop in the new building, and a fine-dining restaurant set up on a space above the Nehru Planetarium.
"The cafeteria, opened last August, offers snacks and meals at reasonable prices, catering largely to the scholars who come here and spend long hours in the library. For the customers on the higher end, we have opened a restaurant named 'Forest Table' on the roof of the planetarium," Lohani said.
The restaurant's decor is themed on heritage architectural elements, and uses vintage-style flooring and antique pieces, including a made-in-USA piano with a mirror on top that sits in a corner of the restaurant that faces the historic Kushak Mahal monument on the campus.
Lohani said the PMML is also planning to publish a booklet containing information on all the prime ministers of India.
Being the former residence of the then-commander-in-chief of India, there is also an 18th century cannon -- installed right in front of the porch of the heritage building designed by Robert Tor Russell -- which faces the majestic front lawns overlooking the 'Teen Murti' monument on the street roundabout that lent the old building its name – Teen Murti Bhawan.
In 1966, the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) Society was set up to manage the historic property and its collections. In 2023, it was renamed the PMML Society following the inauguration of the Sangrahalaya by Prime Minister Modi in 2022. PTI KND MNK ARI
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