India is to host the 46th meeting of the World Heritage Committee in New Delhi from 21st to 31st July, the Ministry of Culture here has announced.

The Committee, which is part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), “identifies cultural and natural properties of outstanding universal value which are to be protected and inscribes those properties on the World Heritage List.”

The Committee currently has 21 member countries elected by UNESCO’s last General Assembly held in November 2023. One hundred and ninety-five countries are party to the World Heritage Convention, which provides the mandate to the Committee.

India has 42 sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Of this, 34 are in the cultural category, seven are in the natural category and one is a mixed property combining nature and culture.

The Taj Mahal in Agra, among the most popular tourist sites in the world, is one of them.

To mark the occasion of the 46th World Heritage Committee meeting, the Ministry of Culture yesterday launched Project Public Art of India (PARI), “to bring forth public art in India that draws inspiration from millennia of artistic heritage.”

PARI will bring together more than 150 visual artists from all over India “to create wall paintings, murals, sculptures and installations under this project,” the Ministry said. – editor@nrifocus.com