News: Three Indian sites added to UNESCO’s World Heritage Tentative List → Two natural sites + one cultural site.

About Tentative List

• Inventory of sites a country intends to nominate for World Heritage status.
• Mandatory prerequisite → Inclusion required before formal nomination for the World Heritage List.

Karst-Mud-Volcano Complex of Baratang

• Location: Baratang Island, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• Features: Limestone karst caves + stalactites and stalagmites + active mud volcanoes.
• Mud volcanism: Releases mud, water + gases; driven by subsurface pressure, not molten magma.
• Geology: Associated with tectonic faults + Indian Plate subduction beneath the Burma microplate.

Andaman Subduction Volcanoes

• Location: Narcondam Island + Barren Island, Andaman Sea.
• Barren Island: India’s only active volcano.
• Geology: Formed due to subduction-related volcanic activity.
• Biodiversity: Narcondam hornbill + Narcondam shrew are endemic to Narcondam Island.
• Significance: Shows volcanic activity + ecological succession.

Sirpur Cultural and Archaeological Landscape

• Location: Mahasamund district, Chhattisgarh, on the Mahanadi River.
• Historical significance: Ancient Shripur, associated with the Kosala Kingdom + Sharabhapuriya and Panduvamshi dynasties.
• Period: Major remains from the 5th–12th centuries CE.
• Features: Hindu temples + Buddhist viharas + palaces + market complexes.
• Significance: Reflects religious coexistence + medieval urban development.