Gandhiji after departure from Sabarmati in Ahmedabad in 1930 settled at Maganwadi in Wardha. This Ashram he named after Maganlal Gandhi, his close associate who had been his right hand in all the earlier three Ashrams but who had suddenly died while working, at his behest in Bihar in 1928. Gandhiji was dedicated to the cause of rural industries and founded the All India Village Industries Association by a resolution of the All India Congress Committee on 26th October 1934 with Mahatma Gandhi as its President and J. C. Kumarappa as its organiser and Secretary. Gandhiji made an advisory committee of AIVIA which consisted of many scientists. The members were: Rabindra Nath Tagore, Sir J. C. Bose, Sir P. C. Ray, Sir C. V. Raman, Dr. B. C. Roy, Dr. S. Subha Rao, Dr. M. A. Ansari, Sir G. D. Birla and so on.

          Almost 76 years back on 30th December 1938, Gandhiji inaugurated the Udyog Bhawan, the Museum of Rural Technology which was called Magan Sangrahalaya. This Sangrahalya stands on 2.3 acres of land in a building of 10,000 Sq.Ft. floor area and has two wings─ one of Khadi and second of Village Industries.

          Gandhiji last visited the Museum in 1944 after his release from the prison after the ‘Quit India movement. At that time he observed that the Museum should not be a static picture of the techniques which can improve the village life but should be a dynamic window on evolving techniques in rural industrialization and thus be ever changing all the time. Dr. Devendra Kumar took up the work of Museum in 1978 to create a new awareness on the part of the scientists, technologists, economists, sociologists and experts in other disciplines all over the country towards Gandhian values.