On October 31, 2019, The 144th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first home minister of India, which is celebrated as National Unity Day, the 2 new Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and Ladakh formally came into existence. As per the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, 2 UTs came into existence at the stroke of midnight on 31 October 2019, almost three months after the Centre revoked Article 370. With this, India now has 28 states and 9 UTs.
Key Points:
i.Prime Minister of India, Mr Narendra Modi dedicated the decision to scrap Article 370 of Indian Constitution to Sardar V. Patel.
ii.Jammu and Kashmir has its own elected legislature and government, presided over by the appointed Lieutenant-Governor (Lt) Girish Chandra Murmu.
ii.Ladakh has no legislature. It’s Lt Governor is Radha Krishna Mathur.