Cyclone 'Dana': IMD Issues Red Alert For Heavy Rain Over Several Districts In Odisha

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Cyclone 'Dana': IMD Issues Red Alert For Heavy Rain Over Several Districts In...

Cyclone 'Dana': IMD Issues Red Alert For Heavy Rain Over Several Districts In Odisha

by Hemanta Pande

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

IMD issued a red warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall over Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Cuttack, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Balasore, and Mayurbhanj districts for the next 24 hours.

Bhubaneswar, Oct 24: Several districts in Odisha, particularly the coastal areas, experienced heavy rain and squally winds on Thursday with the sea condition remaining rough, as severe cyclonic storm ‘Dana’ approached closer to the state’s coast, informed the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

According to the IMD, the highest rainfall of 60 mm was recorded at Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district, followed by Chandbali (Bhadrak) 50 mm, Chandanpur (Mayurbhanj) 30mm, Nawana (Mayurbhanj) 30mm, Kujanga (Jagatsinghpur) 30 mm, Rajkanika (Kendrapara) 30mm, Rajnagar (Kendrapara) 20mm, Nilgiri (Balasore) 20 mm this morning.

Meanwhile, the weathermen issued a red warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall over Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Cuttack, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Balasore, and Mayurbhanj districts for the next 24 hours.

Orange weather warning has been issued for the Puri, Khordha, Keonjhar, Nayagarh and Dhenkanal districts while yellow alert has been issued for Ganjam, Boudh, Angul, Deogarh, Sabalpur, Jharsuguda, Sundargarh and Kandhamal districts.

The cyclone is likely to make landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra Port in Odisha early Friday with wind speeds of up to 120 kilometres per hour (kmph), it said.

Director of the Regional Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, Manorama Mohanty said: “The severe cyclonic storm is likely to re-curve slightly towards west and west-southwards after landfall, triggering rain in southern Odisha around October 26. However, the landfall and wind speed predictions remain unchanged.”

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi conducted a review meeting this afternoon and instructed officials to achieve “zero casualties” during the natural disaster.

CM Majhi said that around 300,000 people have been relocated to various cyclone shelters, and the operation is ongoing.

A total of 7,285 cyclone centres have been established, and 91 medical teams have been deployed in view of the impeding cyclonic storm, officials said.

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Adani Wilmar Posts Highest-Ever Half Yearly Net Profit At Rs 624 Crore

by Hemanta Pande

Ahmedabad, Oct 24: Adani Wilmar Ltd on Thursday reported its highest-ever half-yearly net profit at Rs 624 crore for the first six months of the current fiscal (FY25).

In Q2 FY25, the Adani Group company clocked Rs 326 crore in standalone profit (PAT), up from Rs 324 crore in Q1 FY25. In the quarter, the company saw an 18 per cent surge in revenue at Rs 14,460 crore (year-on-year).

Adani Wilmar MD and CEO Angshu Mallick said they have delivered another strong quarter, with double-digit growth in both edible oils and Food & FMCG segments.

"We have been the second and third largest players in wheat flour and basmati rice business, respectively. On the back of trust and quality, along with branding investments, our flagship brand ‘Fortune’ has been gaining good acceptance with consumers for the entire range of kitchen essentials," Mallick added.

Edible oils and Food and FMCG segments delivered strong double-digit revenue growth of 21 per cent and 34 per cent (YoY), respectively. The strong growth in staple foods was partially offset by the decline in the industry essential segment.

With stable edible oil prices, the Adani Group company posted strong profits over the last four quarters.

For Q2 FY25, operating EBITDA was at Rs 613 crore. In Q2, the edible oil segment revenue grew by 21 per cent YoY to Rs 10,977 crore. This represents the third consecutive quarter of double-digit volume growth. The growth was driven by strong performance in soybean, sunflower, and mustard oil. The Food and FMCG segment’s revenue grew by 34 per cent to Rs 1,718 crore. Excluding the G2G exports business, the volume growth of the Food and FMCG business was at 21 per cent YoY.

"In the wheat business, the company continues to grow strongly. The sales also benefited from the introduction of small pack sizes in markets with lower per capita consumption. In Q2, branded sales of pulses, besan, soya nuggets, sugar, poha, and soap showed strong double-digit growth YoY," the company said.

The company has been expanding its distribution network to access more towns and has reached over 36,000 rural towns directly by the end of September. The goal is to reach 50,000 rural towns by the end of FY25 and drive the penetration of outlets and volume offtake in the new outlets, said the company.

--IANS

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‘AIESC Meeting’ Emerges As Key Platform For Building Stronger Knowledge Bridges: Dharmendra Pradhan

by Hemanta Pande

Sydney, Oct 24: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan along with his Australian counterpart, Jason Clare MP, attended the 2nd Australia-India Education and Skills Council (AIESC) meeting in Sydney, Australia today.

Glad to be in Sydney for the 2nd Australia 🇦🇺-🇮🇳India Education and Skills Council meeting alongwith Minister @JasonClareMP and Minister @andrewjgiles.

The AIESC meeting has emerged as a key platform for building stronger knowledge bridges, advancing mutual priorities in… pic.twitter.com/YNPc4q4XDP — Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) October 24, 2024

Addressing the event, Minister Pradhan emphasized that the AIESC meeting has become a crucial platform for strengthening knowledge bridges, advancing shared priorities in education and skills development, breaking new ground, and envisioning a brighter future for Australia and India.

Pradhan said that education and skills will be the driving force for building economic prosperity for India and Australia and also forging lasting connections between our people and institutions.

The Ministers held discussions focused on forecasting future workforce, education needs, bridging skill gaps through education and training, and strengthening research collaboration between the two countries’ higher education institutions.

Pradhan hoped that AIESC would further strengthen the bilateral partnership between Australia and India at all levels of education: school, skills and higher education. He also informed that the next AIESC meeting will be in India in 2025.

Earlier in the day, Pradhan interacted with high level administrators from Innovative Research Universities (IRU) – a coalition of Universities in Australia, where he engaged in enriching discussions with its members.

Earlier this week from 20-21 October, Pradhan visited Singapore and met the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Education Minister and other dignitaries to expand bilateral cooperation in skill-based education and research.

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J&K CM Omar Abdullah Meets PM Modi In Delhi

by Hemanta Pande

Srinagar, Oct 24: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi during his first visit to the national capital after assuming office last week.

This is Omar Abdullah’s first meeting with PM Modi after being sworn in as the Chief Minister of J&K. On Wednesday, Omar Abdullah met the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and according to reports, Omar submitted the resolution passed by J&K Cabinet for restoration of statehood to the Home Minister.

Omar was expected to submit the statehood resolution to the Prime Minister on Thursday however there is no confirmation as of yet whether he has submitted the resolution.

The Chief Minister also met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and during the meeting, the Defence Minister conveyed PM Modi’s interest in ensuring progress and development of J&K.

The Defence Minister also told the Chief Minister that the Union government is committed to support the initiatives that will bring prosperity and stability to the region.

Omar Abdullah also met Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari and discussed the ongoing road projects and future developmental initiatives in J&K. Their meeting focused on the expansion of road infrastructure, including critical highway projects and the enhancement of transportation facilities across J&K.

NC headed by former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah had made the restoration of Article 370 and statehood for J&K the main electoral plank.

Restoration of statehood to J&K has been assured both by the Union Home Minister and the Prime Minister. Even before the Supreme Court, the union government filed an affidavit that statehood would be restored to J&K as soon as possible.

NC won 42, BJP 29, Congress 6, PDP 3, CPI (M) 1, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) 1, Peoples Conference 1 and independents 7 seats in the 90-member Legislative Assembly for which the election were held after 10 years in J&K.

Six independent MLAs later joined the NC while the Congress supports the Omar Abdulla-led government, but said it would not join the government unless statehood is restored to J&K.