UNESCO adds two sites of India to the World Heritage List Report by Prashasti Kulkarni This month, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation or UNESCO, added the Hoysala temples of Karnataka and Santiniketan, West Bengal to their list of World Heritage Sites. These sites mark India's 41st and 42nd contribution to the list, the first being the Ajanta Caves of Maharashtra, added in 1983. UNESCO uses a specific criteria to decide which place, monument or area to add to the list every year, which includes points ranging from the architectural beauty of a place to its cultural significance. UNESCO's World Heritage Sites of September 2023, India. As mentioned before, UNESCO added the Hoysala Temples of Belur, Karnataka and Santiniketan, West Bengal to the World Heritage list in September 2023.