Three Indian Sites Added to UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

Context: India’s UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List has reached 81 properties following the recent addition of three new sites.

About the New Sites

• Karst-mud-volcano Complex of Baratang (Andaman and Nicobar Islands):
  Located on the Great Andaman main chain, the proposed site includes limestone caves and active mud volcanoes.
  Its geological features are associated with the region’s tectonic activity; the caves also form part of a biologically diverse tropical forest and coastal landscape.

• Andaman Subduction Volcanoes (Andaman Sea):
  Comprises Barren Island and Narcondam Island, two Quaternary-period subduction volcanoes in the inner volcanic arc of the Burma–Andaman–Java complex.
  Together, they illustrate volcanic processes, ecological succession and endemism. Barren Island is India’s only active volcano.

• Sirpur Cultural and Archaeological Landscape (Chhattisgarh):
  Located in Mahasamund district, on the eastern bank of the Mahanadi River, approximately 78 km from Raipur.
  The ancient town, also known as Shripur, developed as a capital of the Dakshina Kosala Kingdom and flourished under the Sharabhapuriya and Panduvamshi dynasties.
  Its remains reflect multi-religious patronage, historic trade and architectural development, with structures dating broadly from the 5th to 12th centuries CE.

About the UNESCO Tentative List

• It is an inventory of properties that a country intends to consider for nomination to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
• Inclusion is a prerequisite for nomination, but does not confer World Heritage status. The World Heritage Committee decides on inscription after the prescribed evaluation process.
• UNESCO’s advisory bodies include ICOMOS for cultural heritage and IUCN for natural heritage.

81st Anniversary of the United Nations

Context: The United Nations marked its 81st anniversary on 24 October 2026, commemorating the entry into force of the UN Charter in 1945.

About the United Nations

• Establishment: Established on 24 October 1945, following the Second World War, with 51 original Member States.
• Membership: The UN currently has 193 Member States. South Sudan, admitted on 14 July 2011, is its most recently admitted member.
• UN Charter: Signed on 26 June 1945 at the San Francisco Conference, it came into force on 24 October 1945. It is the UN’s founding treaty, defining its purposes, principles, institutional framework and powers.
• Objectives: To maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, promote international cooperation and encourage respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
• Headquarters: New York City, USA. The UN has six principal organs, of which the International Court of Justice (ICJ), seated at The Hague, Netherlands, is the only one located outside New York.

Six Principal Organs of the UN

• General Assembly (UNGA): The main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ, comprising all 193 Member States, each with one vote.
• Security Council (UNSC): Has primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. It comprises 15 members—five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) and ten non-permanent members elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms. The permanent members possess veto power over substantive decisions.
• Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC): Coordinates and reviews international economic, social and environmental issues and promotes cooperation on sustainable development.
• Trusteeship Council: Established to supervise Trust Territories and guide them towards self-government or independence. It suspended operations in 1994 after all Trust Territories had attained self-government or independence.
• International Court of Justice (ICJ): The UN’s principal judicial organ, based at The Hague. It settles legal disputes between States and gives advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorised UN organs and agencies.
• Secretariat: Carries out the UN’s day-to-day work under the leadership of the Secretary-General, implementing mandates given by the organisation’s principal organs.

India’s First Maritime NBFC SMFCL Scales Up

Context: Sagarmala Finance Corporation Limited (SMFCL), India’s first dedicated maritime-sector NBFC, has disbursed ₹5,107 crore and targets cumulative disbursements of ₹60,205 crore by the end of FY2030–31.

About Sagarmala Finance Corporation Limited (SMFCL)

• Origin: Incorporated as Sagarmala Development Company Limited (SDCL) on 31 August 2016, it was reconstituted as SMFCL in June 2025 after receiving RBI registration as a non-deposit-taking NBFC.
• Administrative status: A 100% Government of India-owned enterprise under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways; classified as a Mini Ratna Category-I CPSE.
• Mandate: Provides specialised, long-term financing across the maritime value chain, including ports, coastal infrastructure, logistics, inland waterways, shipbuilding and ship repair.

Key Initiatives and Future Roadmap

• Maritime Development Fund (MDF): Comprises two components:
• Maritime Investment Fund (MIF): SBI Ventures Limited has been appointed fund manager. Registration as an Alternative Investment Fund with SEBI was targeted for completion by the end of November 2026, with a first close of ₹5,000 crore targeted by January 2027. The Government of India’s contribution may be up to ₹9,800 crore towards the MIF’s target corpus of ₹20,000 crore.
• Interest Incentivisation Fund (IIF): Aims to reduce borrowing costs for eligible shipyards. Loans worth ₹4,500 crore have been supported, with approximately ₹25 crore released as interest subvention.
• Other support: SMFCL manages credit-risk support under the Shipbuilding Development Scheme and oversees the release and utilisation of funds associated with the Sagarmala Programme and National Maritime Heritage Complex.

Asian Para Games 2026

Context: The 5th Asian Para Games concluded in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on 24 October 2026, with India securing its highest-ever medal tally at the continental event.

About the Asian Para Games

• Organiser: Asian Paralympic Committee (APC), the regional body governing the Paralympic Movement in Asia.
• History: The Games evolved from the Far East and South Pacific Games for the Disabled (FESPIC), first held in 1975. The first Asian Para Games were held in Guangzhou, China, in 2010.
• 2026 edition: Held from 18–24 October in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, featuring 18 sports.
• Next edition: The 6th Asian Para Games will be held in Doha, Qatar, in 2030.

India’s Performance

• Record medal haul: India won 114 medals—30 gold, 35 silver and 49 bronze, finishing fourth in the medal standings.
• Previous best surpassed: India exceeded its previous best of 108 medals at the 2022 Asian Para Games, held in Hangzhou, China, in 2023.
• Sport-wise contribution: Para-athletics led with 65 medals, followed by para-badminton with 16 and para-swimming with 11.
• Notable achievements: Nishad Kumar won gold in both the men’s high jump and long jump (T47), while Mona Agarwal won two shooting gold medals, including a world-record performance in the 50m rifle three positions (SH1).

Indian Physicist Wins Oskar Klein Medal

Context: Indian theoretical physicist Ashoke Sen has been awarded the 2026 Oskar Klein Medal, becoming the first Indian physicist to receive the honour.

About Ashoke Sen and His Contributions

• Affiliation: ICTS-Infosys Madhava Chair Professor at the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS), Bengaluru, an institute of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR).
• Key contributions: Pioneering work on string theory, particularly S-duality, the precise counting of black-hole entropy and string field theory.
• Other honours: Received the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2012) and the Dirac Medal (2014); also awarded the Padma Shri (2001) and Padma Bhushan (2013).

About the Oskar Klein Medal

• Awarding institutions: Stockholm University and the Nobel Committee for Physics of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
• Established in 1988, the medal recognises distinguished contributions to physics and is named after Swedish theoretical physicist Oskar Klein.
• As part of the 2026 award, Sen delivered the Oskar Klein Memorial Lecture, titled “Gravity from Strings and Strings from Gravity,” at Stockholm University’s AlbaNova Centre on 22 October 2026.