National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) is an autonomous scientific organization functioning under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India for science communication through its network of science museums or science centres spread across India.^[3] It is the largest chain of science centers/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. The NCSM has been built to co-ordinate all informal science communication activities in the museum space in the country.

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National Council of Science Museums

NCSM building
Abbreviation	NCSM
Formation	4 April 1978; 46 years ago (4 April 1978)
Type	Society
Legal status	Government
Purpose	Educational
Headquarters	Kolkata, West Bengal
Location	India
Coordinates	22°34′12″N 88°25′43″E
Region served	Worldwide
Director General	A. D. Choudhury
Parent organisation	Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India
Budget	₹740 crore (US$93 million) (2020–21)[1]
Staff	852 (as of 31 March 2019[update])[2]
Website	ncsm.gov.in
Remarks	Visitors 14409555 (as of 31 March 2019[update])[2]

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The first science museum, Birla Industrial and Technological Museum (BITM), Kolkata under CSIR43, was opened on 2 May 1959. In July 1965, the second science museum of the country, the Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum (VITM) was opened in Bangalore. After Kolkata and Bangalore, the work for the third centre in 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 the early 1970s to assess the activities of the science museums. The 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 4 April 1978, as National Council of Science Museums (NCSM).^[4]

The following are the list of science centres/museums developed by NCSM for various state governments and union territories across India.

• Swami Vivekananda Planetarium, Mangalore