Context: Recently, Union Minister for Culture launched the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of India, which aims to raise awareness about various intangible cultural heritage elements from different states of India, at national and international level and ensure their protection. 
About the Initiative

• The National ICH List is an attempt to recognize the diversity of Indian culture embedded in its intangible heritage. It aims to raise awareness about the various intangible cultural heritage elements from different states of India.
• This initiative is also a part of the Vision 2024 of the Ministry of Culture.

Following UNESCO’s 2003 Convention for Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, this list has been classified into five broad domains in which intangible cultural heritage is manifested:

• Oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage;
• Performing arts;
• Social practices, rituals and festive events;
• Knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe;
• Traditional craftsmanship.

The present items in the list have been collated from the projects sanctioned under the scheme for ‘Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage and Diverse Cultural Traditions of India’ formulated by the Ministry of Culture in 2013.

• As of now the list has more than 100 elements, It also includes the 13 elements of India that have already been inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

About UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage

• This coveted list is made up of those intangible heritage elements that help demonstrate diversity of cultural heritage and raise awareness about its importance.
• The list was established in 2008 when Convention for Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage came into effect.
• It has two parts viz. Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of urgent safeguarding.

From India the Intangible Cultural Heritages added into this list include:

• Tradition of Vedic chanting
• Ramlila, the traditional performance of the Ramayana
• Kutiyattam, Sanskrit theatre
• Ramman, religious festival and ritual theatre of the Garhwal Himalayas.
• Mudiyettu, ritual theatre and dance drama of Kerala
• Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan
• Chhau dance
• Buddhist chanting of Ladakh: recitation of sacred Buddhist texts in the trans-Himalayan Ladakh region, Jammu and Kashmir.
• Sankirtana, ritual singing, drumming and dancing of Manipur
• Traditional brass and copper craft of utensil making among the Thatheras of Jandiala Guru, Punjab
• Yoga
• Nawrouz
• Kumbh Mela

Other items included in the list apart from the UNESCO
Context: Recently, Manipur’s tradition of making rice beer, the practice of tying turbans in Rajasthan and several different dances, forms of music and festivals from across the country were among the 106 items listed as intangible cultural heritage in a draft released by the Union Culture Ministry .

• Among the traditions seen across the country are the devotional music of Qawwali and the music of the oldest instrument in the country, the Veena. The Kumbh Mela and Ramlila traditions of different States have also been included. 
• The list includes the traditional folk festival of Pachoti in Assam, where the birth of a baby, particularly a male infant as the tradition “relates to the birth of Krishna”, is celebrated with relatives and neighbours. 
• The oral traditions of the transgender community called Kinnar Kanthgeet and compositions of Ameer Khusro are among the entries from Delhi. 
• Gujarat’s Patola silk textiles from Patan with its geometric and figurative patterns also made it to the list. The practice of tying a turban or safa across Rajasthan was a part of the list. 
• From Jammu and Kashmir, the Kalam Bhat or Qalambaft gharana of Sufiana music in Budgam district and from Ladakh, the Buddhist chanting across both Leh and Kargil districts were on the list of intangible cultural heritage. 
• The making of khor, a rice beer, by the Tangkhul community in Manipur as well as other crafts associated with it, like making gourd vessels and wicker baskets, were also on the list. 
• Kerala’s martial art form, Kalaripayuttu, and the practice of making designs at the entrance of homes and temples called kolam in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh were also included in the list. 
• Different forms of shadow puppet theatre — Chamadyacha Bahulya in Maharashtra, Tolu Bommalatta in Andhra Pradesh, Togalu Gombeyatta in Karnataka, Tolu Bommalattam in Tamil Nadu, Tolpava Kuthu in Kerala and Ravanchhaya in Orissa — have also been included.