INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION AND PROMOTION OF DURGA PUJA

• Durga Puja in Kolkata is the first Indian festival inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity (2021).
• The Ministry of Culture (MoC) promotes the festival globally through its Global Engagement Scheme (GES), providing grants-in-aid to international organisations.
• Tests cultural diplomacy, soft power, UNESCO conventions and India's intangible heritage apparatus (SNA, ASI, MoC).