Enchanting glimpses from the Shikara Festival on Dal Lake in Srinagar.
Only 10,059 tourists have visited the state this month compared to around 90,000 in July
India is proposing a new law that would impose a jail term of up to seven years and a fine of Rs 10 lakh on anyone found using a forged passport or visa to enter, stay, or exit the country. The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, also mandates reporting of foreign visitors by hotels, universities, and hospitals to track overstaying individuals. The bill aims to simplify laws, ease business, and strengthen national security while promoting economic growth and tourism.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the decision to transform Jammu and Kashmir into a Union Territory is 'temporary' and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government will restore the statehood to the region.
How to discover beautiful destinations in true-blue filmi style (which simply means you look fabulous as you do so:))!
'The lack of opportunities here remains the biggest worry.' 'We have seen investment summits, but if you look around, much of it is only on paper and not on the ground.'
The upper reaches of Kashmir valley witnessed the first snowfall of the season. The weather department has predicted bad weather for a few days. Snowfall at hill stations like Gulmarg and Pahalgam also brings the hope of revival of tourism in the area which has been severely hit for most of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Writers and creators are telling more authentic stories based in states and cities that we may not have seen much of in mainstream media, such as Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. Or ones that we have some mistaken notions about like Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, highlights Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
If the government is able to deliver the promised projects, the large number of youth will be taken off the streets and that is not acceptable to the Pakistan army nor the terrorists hiding in Pakistan, notes Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).
Inflencer and vlogger Shenaz Treasury chooses her favourite quiet spots.
Travelling from South India to Kashmir in December was magical for Ganesh Nadar as he feasted his eyes on the beauty of the snow-capped Himalayas.
The idea of the garden, spread over 30 hectares in the foothills of snow-clad Zabarwan range, was conceived to advance the tourism season in the valley by two months.
The Indian Army's Ski patrol team take part in an avalanche rescue exercise drill.
In his first visit to the valley after becoming the prime minister for the third consecutive term, Modi emphasised the importance of enabling the people of Jammu and Kashmir to elect their representatives for the assembly.
Restoration of Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir's statehood as well as implementation of the autonomy resolution passed by the erstwhile assembly in 2000 are among the National Conference's 12 guarantees announced in its manifesto for the upcoming polls.
India's Army Chief, General Upendra Dwivedi, emphasized the Indian Army's role as a "melting pot" and cited the harmony between Kuki and Meitei soldiers in the same units as an example of the force's unifying nature. He made the remarks during a lecture in Pune, highlighting the Army's efforts to promote unity and integration within its ranks. General Dwivedi also touched upon the Army's role in internal security in Jammu and Kashmir, the Northeast, and the upcoming Olympics.
Neelam Kothari and her husband Samir Soni enjoyed a beautiful weekend in Kashmir, taking in the Gulmarg Winter festival, organised by the Indian Army to promote tourism in the valley.
A list of lesser-travelled destinations in India that you must explore this year!
After inaugurating development projects worth nearly Rs 5,000 crore for boosting the agri-economy in the Union territory, Modi said he was "elated to be among the wonderful people of Srinagar".
Here's your travel guide to exploring some of India's most beautiful villages.
Umar Ganie captures glimpses of Vidya Balan and Arbaaz Khan's visit to Kashmir for Rediff.com.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has approved a proposal to authorise departmental stores to sell beer and other ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages in urban areas, an official said.
Additional security personnel have been deployed on the ground and drones are being used for aerial surveillance, they said.
For the first time in nearly two years, tourism has been on the rise in Kashmir. But what does that mean for the average Kashmiri, ponders Abhishek Mande Bhot after a recent visit to the Valley.
Delegates of all G20 countries, barring China, arrived in Srinagar on Monday for the third working group meeting on tourism -- a much-anticipated event for which authorities have made extensive security arrangements and spruced up the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said his government has made a "solemn promise" for restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood and will stand by it, adding the Centre was working very hard to create the right conditions.
A Kashmiri Pandit himself, Kaul feels, it is time now for the people to move forward, after more than 30 years of unbridled violence.
It seems in the geopolitics of the 21st century, we can see the subcontinent acting as one geopolitical entity to secure its economic interests. Key to this transformation is a strong India that is pre-eminent but not dominant, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'If democracy does not exist, if there are no political spaces, there is no media, there is no civil society, what do we rejoice?'
'With all outlets of public expression virtually choked for the last five years, suppressed anger and frustration is looking for an opening via the ballot box.' 'There is no escape from the inevitability of the 'Engineer Rashid' factor surfacing in a big enough way to upset everyone's applecart,' alerts Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
Umar Ganie captures glimpses of Srinagar's first-ever Formula 4 race!
The violence in the state last year reduced tourist inflow by 55% and revenue by 80%. Kasmiris hope the summer of 2017 will take them back to the highs of 2015. Sohini Das reports.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com comes across a Ganesh temple in Kashmir's summer capital that remains a well kept secret.
India's appetite for music tourism is only growing.
With the thawing of relationship between India and Pakistan and the Jammu and Kashmir government adopting crucial confidence-building measures, tourism in the valley has taken a giant leap
It's a different Srinagar from what Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf encountered 24 years ago. Tourists throng the Kashmir Valley post-Article 370, azaadi appears dead, and everyone says one man is responsible for this change, so what if his poster is nowhere to be seen.
The economy of Jammu and Kashmir is largely based on agriculture and tourism. The state produced 19.56 lakh MT of fresh fruits in 2018-19.
Discover our country through great Indian rail trips!
At present, the railway services in Kashmir operate between Banihal in Ramban District and Baramulla only.
