A week-long traditional Kharchi festival, offering prayer to 14 gods and goddesses, began with thousands of devotees converging at Khayerpur on the eastern outskirts of Tripura.
The new sites include three wetlands (Karikili Bird Sanctuary, Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest and Pichavaram Mangrove) in Tamil Nadu, one (Pala wetland) in Mizoram and one wetland (Sakhya Sagar) in Madhya Pradesh.
Kerala is now the first and only state in the country to have its own internet service, according to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who made the announcement.
Odisha has topped in the state ranking for implementation of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) through ration shops, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.