'Ancient Buddhist Site, Sarnath' submitted as India's nomination to UNESCO for 2025-26 cycle

New Delhi: India has submitted this year a dossier titled 'Ancient Buddhist Site, Sarnath' to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre for the 2025-26 nomination cycle, the government informed Parliament on Monday.

Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said this in a written response to a query in Lok Sabha.

He was asked the details of the number of new heritage sites being proposed for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List and the timelines set for this process.

"This year, the nomination dossier titled 'Ancient Buddhist Site, Sarnath' has been submitted to the World Heritage Centre for the 2025-26 nomination cycle. As per the Operational Guidelines, 2024, only one property can be submitted for the inscription process in any given cycle," the minister said in his response.

The nomination process takes "approximately 1.5 years" from the date of submission of the dossier, after following the process of inscription as laid down in Operational Guidelines, 2024.

In response to another query, Shekhawat said, "there is no specific grant scheme or special fund allocated to support the restoration and preservation of community heritage sites".

"However, all monuments protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) are in a good state of preservation. Conservation work is carried out using the allocated budget, based on availability and requirement," he added.

The ASI maintains 52 site museums, including those in remote areas, and is adopting digital technologies to enhance visitor experiences. It also undertakes outreach programs to raise awareness and engagement, especially among youth, for the preservation of cultural heritage. The Culture Ministry also gives grants under Museum Grant Scheme for local museums, Shekhawat said.

In response to another query, he said, currently, two properties from Maharashtra and 11 properties from Madhya Pradesh have been included in the Tentative List of World Heritage Sites.

"However, no property from Jharkhand features in the Tentative List. Inclusion in the Tentative List is a mandatory prerequisite for proceeding with World Heritage nomination," the minister said.