Kashi Vishwanath Temple

You will be confronted by a symbol of Hindu India in the spiritually important Vishwanath Temple, the number-one attraction of Varanasi that draws hordes of pilgrims daily. The temple is one of the Dwadasa Jyotirlinga shrines or the 12 shrines enshrining Shiva in the form of a Jyotirlingam in the country.

Built in 1776 Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore, the wonderful Vishwanath Temple is a big attraction in Varanasi. This sacred Hindu shrine attracts pilgrims from all over the world who come here to offer their prayers to Lord Siva, one of the Hindu Trinity of Gods. One of the 12 jyotirlinga sites, Vishwanath Temple is a pilgrimage site that every Hindu cherishes to visit. 

In 1839, two domes of the Temple were covered by gold, donated by the great Sikh leader Maharaja Ranjeet Singh.

BRICS Expansion

The five-member BRICS have invited six more nations to join the alliance on Thursday (August 24),

The group owes its name to the initials of its five member states. They are Brazil, Russia, India, C hina, and South Africa. In its recent 15th summit at Johannesburg in South Africa, BRICS has invited Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, and Ethiopia. Their membership will begin in January.

Approximately two dozen countries had formally applied to join the group, but there had to be consensus among its existing five members for candidate countries to be admitted.

BRICS currently represents around 40% of the world’s population and more than a quarter of the world’s GDP.

With the additions, it will represent almost half the world’s population, and will include three of the world’s biggest oil producers, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iran.

The formation of BRICS in 2009 was driven by the idea that the four emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, and China would be the future economic powerhouses of the world. South Africa was added a year later.