National Museum, New Delhi is the premier museum of India. It houses an impressive collection of artefacts from across the country and the world. The genesis of National Museum collection is truly remarkable. In 1947-48 an exhibition of Indian antiquities, sponsored by the Royal Academy of Arts, London was held at Burlington House, London. On return, the objects were exhibited in the state rooms of Rashtrapati Bhawan (India’s President’s House in New Delhi) in 1948. On 15th August 1949, National Museum was formally inaugurated by the Governor General of India, Shri R.C. Rajagopalachari, and it was announced that till the permanent building for housing the collections was constructed, the Museum would continue to function in the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Heeding to a request from the central Government, many of the participants of the London exhibition donated their artefacts to the new museum, and this formed the nucleus of the collection of National Museum. The collections continued to grow through gifts and the consistent efforts of its Art Purchase Committee. Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, laid the foundation stone for the Museum building on 12th May 1955 and the new building was opened on 18th December 1960. Today, National Museum has over 2,10,000 art objects representing 5,000 years of Indian art and craftsmanship. The collection includes sculptures in stone, bronze, terracotta and wood, a large collection of miniature paintings and manuscripts, coins, arms and armour, jewellery, textile, costumes and anthropological objects. Antiquities from Central Asia and Pre-Columbian artefacts form the two non- Indian collections in the Museum. The Museum is the custodian of the treasure trove of India’s multilayered history and multicultural heritage. The Museum continuously evolves its galleries and presents new collections to visitors. However some of the key galleries and their collections are always of display. This, much awaited Guidebook will take visitors through the spectacular collections of National Museum spread across three levels. Each gallery has some of the best masterpieces of Indian art and this Guidebook will help visitors explore their stories. In each section, there is a brief introduction to each gallery followed by narratives on the most representative objects from the collection that are on display and should not be missed.