Smart Cities Mission
On UPSC.wiki
Current affairsSarnath Inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Site: India's 45th — 2,500 Years of Buddhist Heritage Now on the Global MapThe Ancient Buddhist Site of Sarnath in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on 25 July 2026 at the 48th World Heritage Committee session in Busan, Republic of Korea — 28 years after being placed on the tentative list in 1998. India now has 45 World Heritage Sites; Sarnath is Uttar Pradesh's fourth. Current affairsGOBARdhan National Circular Bioenergy Scheme: Cabinet Approves ₹23,731 Crore for Compressed BiogasThe Union Cabinet on August 6, 2026 approved the National Circular Bioenergy Scheme — GOBARdhan — with a ₹23,731 crore outlay over FY 2026–27 to FY 2035–36. The scheme consolidates India's fragmented biogas policy into a single framework to achieve tenfold growth in compressed biogas (CBG) production, providing guaranteed pricing, capital assistance, and assured offtake for ten years.
