Omar Abdullah Sworn In As First Chief Minister Of Union Territory Jammu And Kashmir

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Omar Abdullah Sworn In As First Chief Minister Of Union Territory Jammu And K...

by Shambhu Datta Mishra

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

L-G Manoj Saxena administered the oath of office to Abdullah and his council of ministers at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar

Independent MLA from Chhamb assmebly seat Satish Sharma was given a place in Omar Abdullah-led cabinet

Srinagar, Oct 16: National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the first Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.

L-G Manoj Saxena administered the oath of office to Abdullah and his council of ministers at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar.

J-K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath of office to Omar Abdullah along with his council of ministers.

National Conference MLA from Mendhar Javed Ahmed Rana, Javid Ahmad Dar from Rafiabad, Sakina Itoo from DH Pora and Surinder Kumar Chowdhary were also administered oath by LG Sinha as ministers in Cabinet.

Independent MLA from Chhamb assmebly seat Satish Sharma was given a place in Omar Abdullah-led cabinet.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were also present for the swearing in ceremony.

Many INDIA Bloc leaders were present in the ceremony of the JKNC Vice President including Samajwadi Party Akhilesh Yadav, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Prakash Karat, NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule, DMK MP Kanimozhi, AAP leader Sanjay Singh and CPI leader D Raja.

PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti was also present during the ceremony.

This came after the Congress-National Conference secured 48 seats, with the NC winning 42 and the Congress only six seats in the Jammu Kashmir assembly elections.

This will be the first elected government in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganization of the former state into two Union Territories.

Omar Abdullah's grandfather, Sheikh Mohammad Abullah, was the first Prime Minister of JK after its accession to India and later served as Chief Minister. Omar's father Farooq Abdullah has been the CM of the erstwhile state thrice.

Omar, a former Member of Parliament was the Chief Minister of the erstwhile state between 2009-2015. He had also served as Union Minister of State for External Affairs in former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's NDA government from 2001 to 2002.

Jammu and Kashmir was under the Presidential rule since 2018, after the Bharatiya Janata Party withdrew its support from the coalition government with Mehbooba Mufti-led People's Democratic Party (PDP).

Recently, the president's rule in Jammu and Kashmir was revoked, clearing the way for the formation of a new government following the recently concluded Assembly polls in the Union Territory.

(ANI)

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Coffee Exports From India Up 55 Pc As Global Demand Grows

by Hemanta Pande

New Delhi, Oct 16: As the global demand for Indian coffee surges, the country has clocked coffee exports worth Rs 7,771.88 crore in the first half of current fiscal (FY25), a massive 55 per cent increase from Rs 4,956 crore during the same period last fiscal.

This surge highlights the growing global demand for Indian coffee and marks a pivotal moment for the nation’s agricultural sector.

For the April-September period, the country exported 2.2 lakh tonnes of coffee, a rise from 1.91 lakh tonnes in the same period last year which is a 15 per cent volume increase, as per latest data by the Coffee Board of India.

There has been a significant rise in coffee price in the international markets, amid anticipated European export regulations. Coffee buyers are paying an average of Rs 352 per kg for the Indian coffee, up from Rs 259 per kg earlier.

Among the countries exporting the Indian coffee, Italy tops the chart with 20 per cent of total exports. Germany, Russia, the UAE and Belgium collectively import 45 per cent of Indian coffee.

The coffee production in India was nearly 3.6 lakh metric tonnes in the 2023-24 crop year.

During 2021-22, Indian coffee exports stood at $1.016 billion, growing by 38 per cent from the previous year 2020-21. In the year 2021-22, India was the fifth largest exporter of coffee in the world with a share of about 6 per cent of global coffee exports.

Karnataka accounts for about 70 per cent of India’s coffee output. Kerala contributes 20 per cent of India’s coffee production, positioning it as the second-largest coffee-producing state in the country. Tamil Nadu ranks third with a 5.7 per cent share. The coffee export market has been a key driver of the country’s coffee industry. (IANS)

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PM Modi Launches BJP’s Active Membership Campaign, Becomes First Member

by Hemanta Pande

New Delhi, Oct 16: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday became the first active member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as he launched the party’s nationwide 'active membership campaign'.

The event, held in the presence of BJP national president J.P. Nadda, and Vinod Tawde, the convener of the National Membership Campaign, marks the next phase of the party’s 'Sangathan Parv Membership Campaign-2024'.

PM Modi shared photos of the event on social media platform X, expressing pride in becoming the first active member of the BJP.

"Giving momentum to our effort to build a developed India! Proud to become the first active member of the BJP and launch the active membership campaign today in the presence of our national president JP Nadda ji. This movement will strengthen our party at the grassroots level and ensure effective contributions from our workers towards national progress," the Prime Minister stated.

The Prime Minister also outlined the criteria for becoming an active member. "To qualify as an active member, a worker must register at least 50 new members within a booth or an assembly seat. This will make them eligible to contest elections for the Mandal Committee and higher roles within the party. These workers will be given ample opportunities to serve the party in various capacities in the future," PM Modi mentioned in his post.

The BJP's National Membership Campaign was initially launched by PM Modi on September 2 at the party's central office expansion. The campaign, titled 'Sangathan Parv Membership Campaign-2024,' has already seen significant growth, with the BJP surpassing nine crore members as of October 15. In Uttar Pradesh alone, the BJP claimed to have crossed two crore members.

With the conclusion of the first and second phases of the membership drive, the third phase began on Wednesday, focusing on expanding the party's active membership base. (IANS)

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Omar Abdullah Sworn In As First Chief Minister Of Union Territory Jammu And Kashmir

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