West Bengal's Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee announced on Monday that the east Indian state would gain seven new districts, bringing the total to 30. This announcement came after Banerjee decided to expand her cabinet from four to five ministers.

West Bengal CM Mamta Banerjee has introduced seven new districts in her state

These seven new districts have been established to streamline administrative operations in West Bengal. According to a senior government official in West Bengal, "the decision was made to ensure smooth administrative operations."

Is there any need to add seven new districts in West Bengal?

If this move is viewed through a political lens, Banerjee's TMC party would like to create more districts in order to reach a larger audience. The formation of new districts is intended to provide an electoral dividend to the current ruling party. It would allow the party to become more region-specific and focused. The establishment of new districts will also aim to improve law and order in the state, as the Mamta-led government is frequently chastised by the opposition party for its poor handling of the law and order situation.

The following are the seven new districts established in West Bengal

(1): Berhampore (2):Jangipur (3): Sundarban (4): Bashirhat (5): Ichamati (6): Ranaghat (7): Bishnupur&nbsp;

Here is the full list of districts in West Bengal:

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<img alt="New districts" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="dbb72b3f-8d81-40e4-bd3e-0e5e145963f9" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/2_16.JPG" /> 
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West Bengal's Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee announced on Monday that the east Indian state would gain seven new districts, bringing the total to 30. This announcement came after Banerjee decided to expand her cabinet from four to five ministers.

West Bengal's Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee announced on Monday that the east Indian state would gain seven new districts, bringing the total to 30. This announcement came after Banerjee decided to expand her cabinet from four to five ministers. West Bengal CM Mamta Banerjee has introduced seven new districts in her state These seven new districts have been established to streamline administrative operations in West Bengal. According to a senior government official in West Bengal, "the decision was made to ensure smooth administrative operations." Is there any need to add seven new districts in West Bengal? If this move is viewed through a political lens, Banerjee's TMC party would like to create more districts in order to reach a larger audience. The formation of new districts is intended to provide an electoral dividend to the current ruling party. It would allow the party to become more region-specific and focused. The establishment of new districts will also aim to improve law and order in the state, as the Mamta-led government is frequently chastised by the opposition party for its poor handling of the law and order situation. The following are the seven new districts established in West Bengal (1): Berhampore (2):Jangipur (3): Sundarban (4): Bashirhat (5): Ichamati (6): Ranaghat (7): Bishnupur Here is the full list of districts in West Bengal:

West Bengal introduces 7 new districts: Check full list

In a mountainous area north of Tokyo, a priest blows a conch shell as Yuichiro Yamamoto bows and thanks to the nature gods for this year's "good harvest": natural ice.

In a mountainous area north of Tokyo, a priest blows a conch shell as Yuichiro Yamamoto bows and thanks to the nature gods for this year's "good harvest": natural ice. Yamamoto is one of Japan's few remaining "ice farmers", eschewing the ease of refrigeration for open-air pools to create a product that is sold to high-end shaved ice shops in trendy Tokyo districts. His trade had all but disappeared in recent decades, and the shaved ice or kakigori that is popular throughout Japan in summer had been produced with cheap machine-made ice. But reinventing natural-made ice as a high-end artisanal product has helped revive the sector and save his firm. "When I started making natural ice, I wondered how I should market it. I thought I needed to transform kakigori," Yamamoto tells AFP at his ice-making field in the town of Nikko, north of Tokyo. Yamamoto took over a traditional ice-making business 13 years ago in Nikko, where he also runs a leisure park. At the time, shaved ice cost just 200 yen ($2) in the local area and Yamamoto, who was fascinated by traditional ice-making, knew he couldn't make ends meet. "My predecessor used to sell ice at the same price as the fridge-made one, which can be manufactured easily anytime throughout the year," the 68-year-old says. The situation made it "impossible" to compete he explains, as producing natural ice is labour intensive. Instead, he decided to transform cheap kakigori into a luxury dessert, made with his natural ice and high-grade fruit puree rather than artificially flavoured syrup. After months of research, he began producing his small batches of artisanal kakigori. A gruelling process "I put the price tag at 800 yen for a bowl of kakigori. I also priced the ice at 9,000 yen per case, which is six times more than my predecessor," he says. At first, there were days he threw away tonnes of ice because he could not find clients. But one day buyers from the prestigious Mitsukoshi department store discovered his product and began stocking it, turning around his fortunes. Kakigori dates back to the Heian Period (794-1185) when aristocratic court culture flourished in the then-capital of Kyoto. It was a rare delicacy reserved for the rich, with the ice naturally made and stored in mountainside holes covered with silver sheets. It was only after 1883 when the first ice-making factory was built in Tokyo, that ordinary person could taste the dessert. With the development of ice-making machines, the number of traditional ice makers dropped to fewer than 10 nationwide. The story is one familiar to many traditional Japanese crafts and foodstuffs with expensive and labour-intensive products losing ground as cheaper, machine-driven versions become available. And making ice naturally is a gruelling task. The season begins in the autumn when workers prepare a swimming-pool-like pit by cultivating the soil and pouring in spring water. Thin frozen initial layers are scraped away along with dirt and fallen leaves. The ice-making begins in earnest in the winter, when water is poured in to freeze solid, but it must be carefully protected. Producers regularly scrape off the snow that can slow the freezing process. "I once spent 16 hours non-stop removing snow," Yamamoto recalls. Cult product And rain too can ruin the product, causing cracks that mean the whole batch has to be discarded. "I check the weather forecast 10 times a day," Yamamoto laughs. Once the ice is 14 centimetres (5.5 inches) thick, which takes at least two weeks, workers begin cutting out rectangular blocks. Each block, which weighs about 40 kilogrammes (88 pounds), is glided into an ice room filled with sawdust on a long bamboo slide. The blocks are sold to some of Tokyo's high-end shaved ice shops as well as department stores. In the Yanaka district, more than 1,000 people queue up every day for a taste of kakigori made with natural ice produced by another ice-maker from Nikko. Owner Koji Morinishi says the naturally made ice has a texture that is different from machine-made products. "It feels very different when you shave it. It's harder because it's frozen over a long period," explains Morinishi. "It's easier to shave thin if the ice is hard. If not hard, it dissolves too quickly." Morinishi himself struggled when he first opened the kakigori shop but has gradually built a cult following for his desserts topped with purees of mango, watermelon, peach or other fruit. And Yamamoto's firm has seen demand soar he now harvests 160 tons a year and knows two new producers who have entered the market. He says: "This business has become attractive and the ice makers are all busy."

High-end rebrand makes life sweet for Japan's 'ice farmers'

With 10 deaths due to the deadly Nipah virus being reported so far from northern Kerala, the state government on Wednesday issued an advisory, asking travellers to avoid visiting the four districts of Kozhikode, Malappuram, Waynad and Kannur.

"Travelling to any part of Kerala is safe. However, if travellers wish to be extra cautious, they may avoid the four districts", health secretary Rajeev Sadanandan said.

The government has also called for an all-party meeting at Kozhikode on May 25 to discuss the issue.

MPs, MLAs, other representatives of people and leaders of various political parties would attend the meeting, health minister KK Shylaja today said.

Ten people have lost their lives to Nipah in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts so far and 19 are undergoing treatment in various hospitals, including one in Waynad.

Of the 13 confirmed cases, 10 persons have died.

Isolation wards have also been set up in Thalassery government hospital in Kannur, according to media reports.

In Kozhikode, from where seven deaths have been reported, district collector UV Jose has ordered temporary stoppage of all training programmes and summer camps in affected areas such as Changaroth, Koorachund, Kottur, Cheruvannur, Chekyad, Chakkittapara and Olavanna.

The anganwadis in these regions too have been asked to close down to avoid the spread of the virus among children.

However, no decision has been taken yet concerning the reopening of schools after the summer vacation.

The administration is hoping that the situation will be under control by the time schools reopen after a week.

"The number of newly infected cases is very low now", Jose said in a statement.

In neighbouring Malappuram, where three people have died due to the virus, orders have been issued in four panchayats to stop Anganwadi classes for the time being.

A crisis management group has been constituted to coordinate the response of government agencies following the deaths in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts.

The group comprises additional chief secretaries of health, revenue, labour, home principal secretary forest, director animal husbandry and state epidemiologists, among others.

Keeping in mind the sacrifice of 28-year-old Lini Puthussery, a nurse at Perambra Taluk hospital, who died after being infected by the virus while treating her patients, the government today decided to give a job to her husband and financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh each for her two sons - aged five and two.

The next of kin of nine others who died of the virus would be given an assistance of Rs 5 lakh each.

Meanwhile, DGP Loknath Behara warned that stern action would be taken against those who spread false information with regard to the virus in the social media.

Creation of fake or false messages, spreading them to cause panic or public disorder are criminal acts and liable for investigation and prosecution.

Directions have been issued to DGP (crimes) to register criminal cases against the creators of the messages and propagators, he said.

An expert team from the National Centre for Disease -Control (NCDC), including its director, Dr Sujeet Kumar Singh and Head of Epidemiology, Dr S K Jain, and a high-level team from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS)are already in Kerala to take stock of the situation.

The outbreak of the virus infection, which is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans, is suspected to be from an unused well which was infested with bats.

The natural host of the virus is believed to be fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family, Pteropus genus.

The Kerala health minister also said there was no need to be afraid of bats and their habitats should not to destroyed.&nbsp 
&nbsp&nbsp &nbsp

The state government has called for an all-party meeting at Kozhikode on May 25 to discuss the issue.

With 10 deaths due to the deadly Nipah virus being reported so far from northern Kerala, the state government on Wednesday issued an advisory, asking travellers to avoid visiting the four districts of Kozhikode, Malappuram, Waynad and Kannur. "Travelling to any part of Kerala is safe. However, if travellers wish to be extra cautious, they may avoid the four districts", health secretary Rajeev Sadanandan said. The government has also called for an all-party meeting at Kozhikode on May 25 to discuss the issue. MPs, MLAs, other representatives of people and leaders of various political parties would attend the meeting, health minister KK Shylaja today said. Ten people have lost their lives to Nipah in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts so far and 19 are undergoing treatment in various hospitals, including one in Waynad. Of the 13 confirmed cases, 10 persons have died. Isolation wards have also been set up in Thalassery government hospital in Kannur, according to media reports. In Kozhikode, from where seven deaths have been reported, district collector UV Jose has ordered temporary stoppage of all training programmes and summer camps in affected areas such as Changaroth, Koorachund, Kottur, Cheruvannur, Chekyad, Chakkittapara and Olavanna. The anganwadis in these regions too have been asked to close down to avoid the spread of the virus among children. However, no decision has been taken yet concerning the reopening of schools after the summer vacation. The administration is hoping that the situation will be under control by the time schools reopen after a week. "The number of newly infected cases is very low now", Jose said in a statement. In neighbouring Malappuram, where three people have died due to the virus, orders have been issued in four panchayats to stop Anganwadi classes for the time being. A crisis management group has been constituted to coordinate the response of government agencies following the deaths in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts. The group comprises additional chief secretaries of health, revenue, labour, home principal secretary forest, director animal husbandry and state epidemiologists, among others. Keeping in mind the sacrifice of 28-year-old Lini Puthussery, a nurse at Perambra Taluk hospital, who died after being infected by the virus while treating her patients, the government today decided to give a job to her husband and financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh each for her two sons - aged five and two. The next of kin of nine others who died of the virus would be given an assistance of Rs 5 lakh each. Meanwhile, DGP Loknath Behara warned that stern action would be taken against those who spread false information with regard to the virus in the social media. Creation of fake or false messages, spreading them to cause panic or public disorder are criminal acts and liable for investigation and prosecution. Directions have been issued to DGP (crimes) to register criminal cases against the creators of the messages and propagators, he said. An expert team from the National Centre for Disease -Control (NCDC), including its director, Dr Sujeet Kumar Singh and Head of Epidemiology, Dr S K Jain, and a high-level team from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS)are already in Kerala to take stock of the situation. The outbreak of the virus infection, which is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans, is suspected to be from an unused well which was infested with bats. The natural host of the virus is believed to be fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family, Pteropus genus. The Kerala health minister also said there was no need to be afraid of bats and their habitats should not to destroyed.

Nipah virus: State government advisory against travelling to 4 northern Kerala districts

NITI Aayog has come up with a mechanism under which 101 most underdeveloped districts of the country termed as 'aspirational' would be competing with each other in terms of performance and they will be ranked on 49 indicators based on various data points.

The 49 indicators on 81 data points will cover five development areas of health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion and skill development and basic infrastructure.

From the beginning of next fiscal year from April 1, this real-time data collection and monitoring will be open for public viewing.

India cannot grow at a high rate on a long run until these districts catch up, whatever high are the GDP number, it has no meaning until the benefit of growth percolates down to very basic level, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said while announcing the launch of ranking for the "Aspirational Districts'.

The ranking of districts follows the launch of 'Transformation of Aspirational Districts' by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January with an aim to quickly and effectively transform some of the most underdeveloped districts in the country.

This will converge the central and state schemes, collaborate central, state and district collectors to strengthen these districts by identifying the low-hanging fruits for immediate improvement, measure progress and then rank the district by getting the data on a real-time basis.

All the states — except West Bengal and Kerala -- are on board in this ranking initiative however, these states are expected to join soon, Kant said.

As per the baseline ranking, Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh is ranked highest with score of 48.13 per cent while Mewat in Haryana tails at the end with 26.02 per cent.

Among others, Asifabad (Telengana), Singrauli (Madhya Pradesh), Kiphire (Nagaland), Shrawasti, Siddarthnagar and Balrampur (Uttar Pradesh), Namsai (Arunachal Pradesh), Sukma (Chattisgarh) are ranked at bottom of the list.

While on top of the list among others include Rajnandgaon (Chhattisgarh), Osmanabad (Maharashtra), Cuddapah (Andhra Pradesh), Ramanathapuram (Tamil Nadu), Udham Singh Nagar (Uttarakhand), Mahasamund (Chhattisgarh), Khammam (Telangana), Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh).

NITI Aayog and the Andhra Pradesh government have created a dashboard for monitoring the real-time progress of the districts.

From April 1, these 101 districts will start entering data and from May onwards, they will be ranked based on progress made (delta ranking) on a real-time basis.

From the beginning of next fiscal year from April 1, this real-time data collection and monitoring will be open for public viewing

NITI Aayog has come up with a mechanism under which 101 most underdeveloped districts of the country termed as 'aspirational' would be competing with each other in terms of performance and they will be ranked on 49 indicators based on various data points. The 49 indicators on 81 data points will cover five development areas of health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion and skill development and basic infrastructure. From the beginning of next fiscal year from April 1, this real-time data collection and monitoring will be open for public viewing. India cannot grow at a high rate on a long run until these districts catch up, whatever high are the GDP number, it has no meaning until the benefit of growth percolates down to very basic level, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said while announcing the launch of ranking for the "Aspirational Districts'. The ranking of districts follows the launch of 'Transformation of Aspirational Districts' by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January with an aim to quickly and effectively transform some of the most underdeveloped districts in the country. This will converge the central and state schemes, collaborate central, state and district collectors to strengthen these districts by identifying the low-hanging fruits for immediate improvement, measure progress and then rank the district by getting the data on a real-time basis. All the states — except West Bengal and Kerala -- are on board in this ranking initiative however, these states are expected to join soon, Kant said. As per the baseline ranking, Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh is ranked highest with score of 48.13 per cent while Mewat in Haryana tails at the end with 26.02 per cent. Among others, Asifabad (Telengana), Singrauli (Madhya Pradesh), Kiphire (Nagaland), Shrawasti, Siddarthnagar and Balrampur (Uttar Pradesh), Namsai (Arunachal Pradesh), Sukma (Chattisgarh) are ranked at bottom of the list. While on top of the list among others include Rajnandgaon (Chhattisgarh), Osmanabad (Maharashtra), Cuddapah (Andhra Pradesh), Ramanathapuram (Tamil Nadu), Udham Singh Nagar (Uttarakhand), Mahasamund (Chhattisgarh), Khammam (Telangana), Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh). NITI Aayog and the Andhra Pradesh government have created a dashboard for monitoring the real-time progress of the districts. From April 1, these 101 districts will start entering data and from May onwards, they will be ranked based on progress made (delta ranking) on a real-time basis.

Haryana’s Mewat, Telangana’s Asifabad are country's most backward districts: Niti Ayog

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