BHUBANESWAR: The Centre has approved establishment of a branch of the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in the capital city at an investment of Rs 630 crore.

This was informed by Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi on Sunday. Sarangi said she had met Union Culture minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in September 2024 and had requested him to allow an NGMA branch in Bhubaneswar.

Later, she met Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and urged him to take up the matter with the Centre. The chief minister wrote to the Union Culture minister on September 25, 2024. Sarangi said she continued to pursue the matter with the Centre, and the Ministry of Culture has now formally communicated its intention to establish an NGMA branch in the capital through a letter on May 29, 2026, addressed to the chief secretary.

The ministry has requested the state government to identify and provide suitable land for the project before further action is initiated in the matter.