The Union Culture Ministry announced on Monday that the Hoysala Temples of Belur, Halebid, and Somnathapura in Karnataka have been selected as India's nomination for the World Heritage List for the years 2022-2023.

The 'Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysala' have been on UNESCO's Tentative list since April 15, 2014, and they bear witness to this country's rich historical and cultural heritage.

On Monday, Vishal V Sharma, India's Permanent Representative to UNESCO, formally submitted the nomination of Hoysala Temples to UNESCO Director of World Heritage Lazare Eloundou.

Following the submission of the dossier, technical review will take place.

"India is proud to nominate The Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas for UNESCO's World Heritage List!" Sharma said in a tweet. Art historians consider the ensembles' exceptional sculptural artistry to be among the masterpieces of Asian art."

The site will be evaluated in September/October of this year, and the dossier will be considered in July/August of next year.

"This is a great moment for India to see the Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas temples being submitted for inscription in the World Heritage List," said G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Development of the Northeastern Region.

"The government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is dedicated to both 'vikas' and 'virasat' (heritage)."

"Our efforts in protecting our heritage are evident from the work the government has been doing in inscribing both our tangible and intangible heritage, as well as repatriating cultural heritage that has been stolen or taken away from India," the Minister added.

The three Hoysala temples are all protected monuments of the Archaeological Survey of India, and thus their conservation and maintenance will be handled by the agency, according to the culture ministry.

According to the state government, the conservation of state-protected monuments surrounding these three monuments will contribute to the visual integrity of the area.