World Heritage Site

India's centrally protected ticketed monuments experienced an over 19 per cent surge in footfall in 2023-24 compared to the pre-pandemic levels but this did not translate into higher revenue from ticket sales, which dropped by 2.83 per cent, official data shows. An analysis of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) data, presented in the Rajya Sabha, covering 143 monuments shows a complex recovery picture for these key heritage sites, contextualised by broader national trends reported in the Ministry of Tourism's 'India Tourism Data Compendium 2024'. The total footfall across these listed monuments increased by 19.35 per cent from approximately 4.60 crore in 2019-20 to 5.49 crore in 2023-24, the data showed. However, despite the surge in the number of visitors, the combined revenue from ticket sales at these monuments saw a decline of 2.83 per cent during the five-year period, dropping from Rs 312.54 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 303.70 crore in 2023-24. This suggests a shift in the ...

After hosting of the G20, the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee that will be held here from July 21-31 will prove to be the next milestone, Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said on Friday. At a curtain-raiser press conference here ahead of the session, he also said an "in-principle approval" has been received for the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the inauguration of the event. Shekhawat said the World Heritage Committee (WHC) session will offer an opportunity to India to showcase its rich cultural heritage, upkeep and management of its sites and the priority India accords to its heritage. Asked on what criteria Delhi was chosen as the host city for the key meeting, the Union minister said Delhi was a "natural choice" for such a culturally important event. Ahead of the WHC session, the government recently launched a public art project with works themed on India's cultural legacy and the country's UNESCO heritage sites among others. In sync wi

Every year World Heritage Week is celebrated from November 19 to November 25, 2023. The ASI has exempted the entry fee for preserved monuments, including the Taj Mahal on November 19

A UN committee voted Sunday to list prehistoric ruins near the ancient West Bank city of Jericho as a World Heritage Site in Palestine, a decision that angered Israel, which controls the territory and does not recognize a Palestinian state. Jericho is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities on earth, and is in a part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank that is administered by the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority. The listing refers to the Tell es-Sultan archaeological site nearby, which contains prehistoric ruins dating back to the ninth millennium B.C. and is outside the ancient city itself. The decision was made at a meeting of the U.N. World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, under the auspices of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO. Israel's foreign ministry released a statement Sunday that said the listing was a cynical ploy by the Palestinians to politicize UNESCO, and that Israel will work with its allies to reverse

Established in 1901 by poet and philosopher Tagore, Santiniketan was a residential school and centre for art based on ancient Indian traditions

The narrative tends to veer towards Tagore and intangible wealth, while the criteria focuses on tangible elements

World Heritage Day or International Day for Monuments and Sites is celebrated yearly on April 18th to create awareness of the relevance of saving ethnic heritage

Four natural sites and three cultural sites were added to the Unesco World Heritage List.

The decision came at the ongoing 42nd session of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's World Heritage Committee