18 Monuments Delisted from Protected Sites List

Exam-focused facts from the 15 August 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

The Centre delisted 18 monuments from the protected list since 2021 under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, citing they had ceased to be of national importance.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has 3,688 centrally protected monuments and sites under its care and maintenance.
The government retrieved 662 artefacts from the US (589), Australia (51), the UK (21), and the Netherlands (1) till June 2026.
No audit has been conducted in the last 12 years on compliance with the Public Records Act, 1993, as the law does not provide for such an audit.