National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), an autonomous Organization under the Ministry of Culture, is engaged in establishment of Regional Science Centres/Science Cities throughout the country. The Science Centre   projects are taken up by NCSM in a phased manner depending upon the availability of resources, project-handling capacity of NCSM and the existing level of Science centre activities in a particular State and also the support/initiative of the State/UT Govt. desirous of having Science Centres . It is stated that setting up a Planetarium is not a part of the “Science Cities Scheme” administered by Ministry of Culture. NCSM, however, has expertise and does set up planetaria on full funding from States /UT Government.

 Science Centres/Cities projects which have been/shall be taken up during 12^th & 13^th Plan Period in a phased manner is given below:-

These Science Cities/Centres will be set up by NCSM within 54 months (for Science Cities), 33 months (for Regional Science Centres) & 27 months (for Sub- Regional Science Centres)  from the date  of start of the work in each case and after  the project is finalized by the  State Government and infrastructure facilities like land  are made available to NCSM.

In order to popularize science and technology for the benefits of students and for the common man, these Science Centres in addition to the static exhibition galleries, organized many mobile museum travelling exhibitions, seminars, popular lectures, science camps, science fairs, training programmes etc., for teachers, students, housewives and others as well as “out-of-school educational activities” apart from administering the Science Centres during the last three years.

 This information was given by the Minister of State for Culture (Independent Charge), Tourism (Independent Charge) and Civil Aviation, Dr Mahesh Sharma in reply to an unstarred question today in Rajya Sabha.