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Shortly after the Narendra Modi government has taken charge of the country’s governance during the second consecutive term, some major and unprecedented legislatures have been made successful. In yet another most shocking as well as surprising move, the government has announced its decision to repeal the constitutional provision ‘<keyword id="405091" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Article-370">Article 370</keyword>’. Though some important provisions of Article 370 have been diluted over the past, the present stricter move to revoke this key provision might bring in some significant changes in the face of Kashmir according to experts. An overview of Article 370 Article 370 has granted a special and exclusively unique status to the state of Kashmir. As per this provision, the central government will need the concurrence of the state government for applying any laws in the state excepting the ones related to defense, finance, communication and foreign affairs. A separate set of laws for the residents Article 370 means that the residents of Kashmir will be governed by a separate set of laws including those that pertain to property ownership, fundamental rights, and citizenship. By virtue of the provisions contained in Article 370, no Indian citizens who do not reside in Kashmir can purchase a land or property in the state of Kashmir. Emergency can’t be declared As per the Article 370, the central government cannot declare financial emergency in Kashmir under the Article 360. Emergency can only be declared in Kashmir when there is an external aggression or war. Special and autonomous status to Kashmir Article 370 is found under Part XXI of the Constitution of India which is connected to granting special autonomous powers to <keyword id="17605" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jammu-and-kashmir">Jammu and Kashmir</keyword> namely “Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions”. Thus, the main objective of the article is to grant a special status to Kashmir. The constitutional provisions that are applicable to the other parts of India are not applicable to Kashmir. The implications of repealing Article 370 Repealing of Article 370 will remove the special status of Kashmir that makes it a distinctive state in India. Once this special status has been scrapped, Indian from anywhere in India can buy property and also settle in Kashmir without any restrictions whatsoever. This situation has triggered fears in the minds of Kashmiris that the present move could bring about a demographic change in the state from a Muslim majority state to a Hindu majority state. Kashmir will become just like any other state in India The resolution moved in the Rajya Sabha recommends that the Parliament of India makes an official notification duly approved and signed by the President of India connected to the repealing of Article 370. It says, “In exercise of the powers conferred by Clause (3) of Article 370 of the Constitution of India, the President, on the recommendation of Parliament, is pleased to declare that as on 5 of August, 2019, all clauses of the said Article 370 shall cease to be operative except Clause (1) thereof…” The prospects awaited after this momentous and bold move A senior leader in BJP Arun Jaitley said, “The decision of the government will help the people of Jammu and Kashmir the most. More investment, more industry, more private educational institutions, more jobs and more revenue will come.

What will change in Jammu & Kashmir after the end of Article 370

Amidst tumultuous uproar as well as strong criticisms, the BJP government headed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi took some bold steps with regard to the status of governance in the valley of Jammu and Kashmir. The government has now decided to roll back the Article 370 and Article 35(A). Repealing these two articles will scrap the special status and exclusive powers enjoyed by the State of Kashmir. This will mean that Kashmir will come in par with all the other states and will be governed by the same laws that govern the rest of India. The implications of removing 35(A) could mean some significant changes effected to the face of Jammu and Kashmir. Overview of Article 35(A) As per the provisions contained in Article 35(A), the state government heading Jammu and Kashmir can define who the permanent residents of the state are. This article came into force earlier following the Constitution (Application to J&amp;K) order, 1954, which was passed by Rajendra Prasad, the then president on the advice of the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Definition of permanent resident of Kashmir At the time of adopting the article 35(A) in 1956, the state’s constitution defined the term ‘permanent resident’ as someone who was the subject of the state as on May 14, 1954, or the one who had been the resident of the state for more than 10 years and has acquired an immovable property through legal means. What the article 35(A) implied The clauses contained in the Article 35(A) would bar anyone from outside Jammu and Kashmir (who is not a permanent resident) from getting a state job or owning a property in the state. This article is also known as permanent residents’ law. Yet another important provision of article 35(A) deprives the state’s female residents’ right to property if they get married to an outsider. This provision will eventually extend to the children born to such a female. What has changed now in Kashmir? After the repealing of Article 35(A), Kashmir will no longer enjoy any special status or powers. In response to the proposal by Amit Shah, President Ram Nath Kovind issued the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019, stating that the provisions of the Indian Constitution will henceforth be applicable to J&amp;K. The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019 takes effect "at once", and shall "supersede the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954". The promulgation issued by the President observes, "All the provisions of the Constitution shall apply in relation to the state of Jammu and Kashmir." The order also added that in the proviso to clause (3) of Article 370, the term "Constituent Assembly of the State referred to in clause (2)" will henceforth read as "Legislative Assembly of the State". Kashmir comes on par with any other state in India. The present legislative moves by the central government has scrapped the special status and powers to the state of Kashmir. Henceforth, all the laws that govern the other states of India will come to govern the state of Kashmir also.

Article 35A - What will change in Jammu Kashmir after the end of Article 35 A

<ul><li>The decisions are unilateral, illegal and unconstitutional and will be challenged as such by the National Conference, said former CM Omar Abdullah.</li><li>It will have catastrophic consequences for the subcontinent, said Mehbooba Mufti, former CM. </li><li>Both Abdullah and Mufti have been under house arrest since Sunday night.</li></ul>Kashmir’s political leaders have expressed their anger and anguish at government’s move to take away the state’s special status and dissolve it into two union territories. Former Chief Ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti who were placed under house arrest expressed their shock and feeling of betrayal as the bill was moved in the parliament. Union Home Minister <keyword id="6355521" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="amit-shah">Amit Shah</keyword> abrogated Article 370 and Article 35A, which does away with the special status given to the state of <keyword id="23412" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jammu-Kashmir">Jammu &amp; Kashmir</keyword>. Opposition leaders in the state and former Chief Ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti expressed their shock and feeling of betrayal as the bill was moved in the parliament. Both the leaders have been under house arrest since Sunday night. Betrayal of trust: Omar Abdullah Former Chief Minister and leader of the Jammu &amp; Kashmir National Conference Abdullah released a statement soon after the amendment was moved in the Parliament. “Government of India’s unilateral and shocking decisions today are a total betrayal of the trust that the people of Jammu and Kashmir had reposed in India when the state acceded to it in 1947. The decision will have far reaching and dangerous consequences. This is an aggression against people of the state as had been warned by an all parties meeting in Srinagar yesterday. GOI has resorted to deceit and stealth in recent weeks to lay ground for these disastrous decisions. Our darkest apprehensions have been unfortunately come true after the GOI and its representatives in J&amp;K lied to us that nothing major was planned. The announcement was made after the entire state, particularly the Kashmir Valley, was turned into a garrison. Those of who gave the democratic voice to the people of Jammu &amp; Kashmir, are incarcerated as lakhs of armed security personnel have been put on the ground. The scrapping of Articles 370 and 35A raise fundamental questions on the State’s accession because that was done on the very terms enunciated in these articles. The decisions are unilateral, illegal and unconstitutional and will be challenged as such by the National Conference. A long and tough battle lies ahead, we are ready for that.” Darkest day in Indian democracy: Mehbooba Mufti Mehbooba Mufti, leader of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party and former Chief Minister of Jammu &amp; Kashmir took to Twitter and said, “Today marks the darkest day in Indian democracy. Decision of J&amp;K leadership to reject two-nation theory in 1947 and align with India has backfired. Unilateral decision of GOI to scrap Article 370 is illegal and unconstitutional which will make India an occupational force in J&amp;K.” Mufti further wrote, “It will have catastrophic consequences for the subcontinent. GOIs intentions are clear. They want the territory of J&amp;K by terrorising its people. India has failed Kashmir in keeping its promises. People like us who placed faith in Parliament, the temple of democracy have been deceived. Those elements in J&amp;K who rejected the constitution &amp; sought resolution under the UN have been vindicated. This will exacerbate the alienation Kashmiris feel.” Constitution has been torn: Ghulam Nabi Azad Voicing his dissent in the parliament, leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said, “Kashmir is under curfew and the state looks like its in a war situation. We stand by the constitution of India. We would lay down our life for it, but I condemn the act of those who burn or tear the constitution.”

‘Betrayal, catastrophe, dangerous’ J&K leaders livid as India scraps Article 370 and bifurcates the state

<ul><li>The state of <keyword id="17605" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jammu-and-kashmir">Jammu and Kashmir</keyword> no longer has a ‘special status’ in the Indian constitution.</li><li><keyword id="26604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ladakh">Ladakh</keyword> will be a <keyword id="6356438" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-territory">Union Territory</keyword> (UT) without an assembly and Jammu and Kashmir will be a second UT with an assembly. </li><li>The state’s former chief minister, Mehbooba Mufti — currently under house arrest — stated that India is ‘terrorising its people’.</li></ul>The state of Jammu and Kashmir will no longer have a ‘special status’ in India with <keyword id="405091" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Article-370">Article 370</keyword> and <keyword id="2945985" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Article-35A">Article 35A</keyword> being scrapped by Presidential Order. With both articles abolished, the ‘state’ of Jammu and Kashmir no longer exists. It is bifurcated into two parts — the union territory (UT) of Ladakh without an assembly, and the UT of Jammu and Kashmir with an assembly. 
 <div type="image" title="b342d1f5781a33c97584eee69debdc06" msid="70532303" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Statement of Objects and Reasons by India&amp;#39;s Home Minister, Amit Shah&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>



 Union territories are governed directly by the central government, hence earning them the name. States, on the other hand are administrative units, and have their own governments. Article 370 made the provision for the state to have its own constitution. Article 35A, based on Article 370, allowed the state to choose its permanent residents, provisions to government posts and governing property rights. 
 <div type="image" title="8f37c756ff5ce3d56319fdab452cec76" msid="70532344" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Presidential Order scrapping Article 35A and Article 370 of the Constitution&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>



 India’s current ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has made no secret of its opposition to it, in both of its election manifestos. 
 
 
 <div type="ExtQuote" text="We are committed to annulling Article 35A of the Constitution of India as the provision is discriminatory against non-permanent residents and women of Jammu and Kashmir. We believe that Article 35A is an obstacle in the development of the state. We will take all steps to ensure a safe and peaceful environment for all residents of the state." auname="BJP’s 2019 Election Manifesto"></div>







 Prior to the announcement, Kashmir’s former chief ministers — Mebooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah — were placed under house arrest. So was People’s Conference chief Sajjad Lone. After the chaos in the Rajya Sabha and the disclosure of the Presidential Order, Mufti tweeted that the government of India only want to take the territory by ‘terrorising its people’. 
	
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="MehboobaMufti" handlename="Mehbooba Mufti" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/927125035751321601/sDtwINlX_normal.jpg" favoritecount="2543" retweetcount="1103" status="It will have catastrophic consequences for the subcontinent. GOIs intentions are clear. They want the territory of… https://t.co/rHGVrLjPGx" createdat="1564985176000" id="1158257896926240768"></div>







 Abdullah also expressed his outrage in calling the government's actions a 'total betrayal of trust' which may have 'far reaching and dangerous consequences'. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/amit-shah-says-article-35a-and-article-370-giving-kashmir-special-status-will-be-annulled-in-rajya-sabha/articleshow/70530969.cms">Article 370 and Article 35A which give Kashmir a special status will be annulled, Amit Shah tells Indian Parliament</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/section-144-in-kashmir-latest-news-developments/articleshow/70529285.cms">All that's happened in Kashmir over the last 72 hours – from movement of troops to suspension of internet to political leaders under house arrest</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-parliament-debate-on-kashmir-latest-news/articleshow/70530170.cms">India’s opposition wants Narendra Modi to reveal his Kashmir plan in Parliament</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/imran-khan-is-asking-donald-trump-to-intervene-as-promised/articleshow/70529731.cms">Imran Khan is asking Donald Trump to intervene in Kashmir as promised</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/journalists-in-kashmir-get-satellite-phones-after-internet-and-mobile-are-shut-down/articleshow/70530054.cms">Reporters in Kashmir get a satellite phone for ₹100,000 a piece as all other communication devices are shut down</a>

Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh will now be two separate Union Territories

<ul><li>Three major films – <keyword id="198679" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Haider">Haider</keyword>, Fanaa and Mission Kashmir – offer a more nuanced look at the most militarised zone in the world than Indian history books. </li><li>the New Delhi board-designed syllabus of the Indian Council of School Examinations did not mention the special status of the state of <a href="https://www.scmp.com/topics/kashmir" class="link-text">Jammu and Kashmir</a>, the only Muslim-majority state in <a href="https://www.scmp.com/topics/india" class="link-text">India</a></li></ul> In school, the New Delhi board-designed syllabus of the Indian Council of School Examinations did not mention the special status of the state of <a href="https://www.scmp.com/topics/kashmir" class="link-text">Jammu and Kashmir</a>, the only Muslim-majority state in <a href="https://www.scmp.com/topics/india" class="link-text">India</a>.There are separate Indian state boards as well. I studied under a central board. We did not learn about the circumstances under which the state joined the Indian Union, nor that Kashmir is the most militarised zone in the world in terms of the number of armed forces personnel per square km of territory. Through my school years in the 1990s, there were news stories from the state about blasts and killings and terrorists, seemingly always about violence. Did they delve into the background of the anger? I don’t know because I did not go beyond the headlines. There was a sameness and one-sidedness to them – invariably images of fire and guns and empty streets – that never invoked interest. When the television news business arrived in a big way in India, this impression was amplified – Hollywood action movie-style visuals of gunfire and explosions and people running for cover, or reporters reporting amid the silence of empty streets patrolled by army men with enormous guns strapped to their bodies. Bombast with no context. This is unsurprising, because journalists’ access to the Valley is mediated through the army, making them structurally dependent on the armed forces and predisposing them to be favourable to their perspective. When <a href="https://www.scmp.com/topics/narendra-modi" class="link-text">Narendra Modi</a> ran for prime minister in 2014, his Bharatiya Janata Party’s manifesto promised that <keyword id="405091" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Article-370">Article 370</keyword>, which spelt out the special conditions under which the province joined the Indian Union at the time of Independence, would be removed. For a populace that was, like me, mostly unaware of its content, it was easy to latch on to simplified nuggets such as the fact that Kashmir does not allow land to be sold to Indians from other states. It sounds like a concession made to a Muslim-majority state but this land restriction exists in several states in India, and is important to prevent heedless development in ecologically sensitive areas. Strange as it may sound, it is the <a href="https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2184614/triumph-modi-propaganda-bollywood" class="link-text">Hindi film industry</a> that has taught me the little I understand about the anger in Kashmir, about the “special” powers of the armed forces stationed there and the “special” consequences they inflicted. Three Bollywood films in particular have left an impact – Haider (2014), Fanaa(2006) and Mission Kashmir (2000). There have been several indie films, extremely well-regarded, but I choose to focus on the big-budget, big star projects of the film industry because these arguably had the widest release and reach. Haider is a reworking of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, set in the “rotten state” of Kashmir in place of Denmark. The setting is much more central to the drama here than it is in Hamlet where the rottenness of Denmark was expressed only in the suspicious death of the king. Here, politics is central to Haider’s father’s disappearance from Kashmir. We never know for certain if he is alive or dead, and this, as we see in the film, is the situation that many Kashmiri families find themselves in. <h3 style="margin-bottom: 1.42857rem; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 300; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.71429rem; line-height: 2.35714rem; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; display: inherit;"> </h3>The evocative term half-widow has arisen from this waiting without end – this is the status of Haider’s mother and many other wives who don’t know what has become of their husbands. In the uncertainty about his father (and the many fathers and brothers and sons who have been taken into custody by the forces in Kashmir and never returned), Haider (and Kashmir) is going mad. Gravediggers sing songs, they are so inured to death. Citizens hesitate to enter their own homes without a pat-down security check, they are so conditioned to being checked. Mothers beg that their sons are sent away from them because they are so afraid of losing them to the insurgency or to the limitless powers of the Indian army. Most of all, the film articulates the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) that the Indian government has imposed on the Valley, how terrifying it is when men with guns have boundless power and no one to question them. Rapes and disappearances ensue, and there is no need to answer what happened because Afspa gives you “special powers”. “Do we exist or do we not”, the film asks in a haunting choral crescendo reminding us of that original line in Hamlet, “to be or not to be”. In Fanaa (2006), a blind Kashmiri woman and a terrorist fall in love with each other during India’s Independence Day celebrations in Delhi. He is there to carry out a blast and she to dance at the national celebration: classical opposites, the nationalist and the revolutionary. After the blast, the terrorist disappears because he comes to the realisation that he would put the woman in danger because of his work. The nationalist’s blindness means she cannot locate him. Years later, fate returns him to her doorstep in Kashmir and the two reconcile briefly before she hands him over to the Indian national forces. Fanaa is nowhere near as compelling or thought-provoking as Haider, it is simply a star-crossed romance set in Kashmir. But it ends on a pointedly ambiguous note. When the couple’s son asks the mother why his father was a terrorist, she replies that he did what he thought was right. The film clearly argues that the terrorist is misguided by malevolent forces yet it refrains from making a moral call on the terrorist’s actions. Mission Kashmir (2000) is about a powerful policeman whose son dies when militants forbid doctors from treating the child. In an episode of poetic justice, the policeman kills a boy’s family in an encounter and adopts the traumatised boy. This encounter is likely carried out with the vast powers granted to Indian forces under the Afspa, certainly no questions are asked of the policeman after the encounter. But the man himself is hollowed by remorse, especially at the sight of the boy who lived. He becomes a terrorist, determined to avenge his family’s gruesome end. That classic divide is set up again, terrorist against dutiful nationalist in a land where loyalties are sharply divided. Eventually, the terrorist comes around to the Indian nation’s view, that Islamist groups are provoking young men like him to divide India. Like Haider, Mission Kashmir questions the actions of Indian forces in Kashmir, though the conclusions the two films come to are different. The policeman’s remorse suggests that the Indian state has a lot to think about and apologise for, that the unchecked power that it has granted its forces leads to <a href="https://www.scmp.com/thisweekinasia/topics/human-rights" class="link-text">human rights</a> violation that feeds the insurgency in the Valley. Haider on the other indicts the Indian state for unleashing this unapologetic, shameless military strength on the Valley. Incidentally, Mission Kashmir is made by a director who is from Kashmir himself. Haider, similarly, is written by Basharat Peer who is also a Kashmiri and has written a highly-acclaimed book on Kashmir called Curfewed Night. Both films are informed by a lived perspective of Kashmir. On August 8, 2019, when Prime Minister Modi addressed Indian citizens on Kashmir, he mentioned the prospects for films. “I urge the Hindi, Telugu and Tamil film industry to come to J&amp;K for shooting their projects,” said Modi. The Hindi film industry has long indicated that Kashmir has a special place by marketing movies filmed in the Valley, naming films using Kashmir in the title and using iconography identified as Kashmiri like the houseboat and the chinar leaf. No other Indian state has been marked as “special” like this by the Hindi film industry. There are films named after big cities like Kolkata and Mumbai and Delhi, but nothing after an entire cultural identity. Until Mission Kashmir, however, these films only did lip service to Kashmir, promoting a tourist’s view of the state, a natural “paradise” where hero and heroine fell in love. These films were not rooted in Kashmir, disengaged from its problems. Mission Kashmirnaturally is a product of its times, born out of a decade-plus of the insurgency that flared in the Valley in the late 1980s. Thereafter, as the unrest never subsided, there have been several films which offer an insider’s view of Kashmir. <h3 style="margin-bottom: 1.42857rem; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 300; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.71429rem; line-height: 2.35714rem; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; display: inherit;"><a href="https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3022046/indias-kashmir-move-attempt-shift-its-muslim-demographic" class="link-text">India’s Kashmir move: an attempt to shift its Muslim demographic? </a></h3>I’ll end with one of the opening sequences of Haider, where his (Hamlet’s) mother, a schoolteacher, is teaching the children of her class the meaning of home. “It is brothers and sisters and fathers and mothers. It is unselfish acts and kindly sharing and showing your loved ones you are always caring.” It is an obvious metaphor for the Indian nation and its fraught relationship with Kashmir, the parents and the estranged child. The filial bond is often invoked for India and <a href="https://www.scmp.com/topics/pakistan" class="link-text">Pakistan</a>– brothers separated in a bloodied moment.But there is also another metaphor here: the Indian state teaching us the history of our “home”, and our duties as citizens and how we should live like brothers and sisters at home, “unselfish acts and kindly sharing”. It brings me back to where I started, what we are taught about our home and what we are not. Every nation controls its citizenry through education and so does India. We never learned the conditions in which Kashmir joined the Indian Union, and the circumstances we created to keep it at any cost. Perhaps it is not so strange then that I learned what little I did about Kashmir from our biggest film industry. For all its commercial inclinations, its lessons feel less biased than that of the Indian state’s.

Bollywood teaches more about Kashmir than India’s schools

India's landslide victory through an unopposed inclusion into the <keyword id="138690" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="United-Nations-Security-Council">United Nations Security Council</keyword> (UNSC) as a non-permanent member has irked the Imran Khan-led government in Pakistan, as angry reactions have started coming out of Islamabad, threatening India of dire consequences in case of any misadventure committed along the <keyword id="44759" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Line-of-Control">Line of Control</keyword> (LoC) and the Working Boundary (WB). Pakistan's Foreign Minister <keyword id="121648" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shah-Mahmood-Qureshi">Shah Mahmood Qureshi</keyword> has warned India against any misadventure, threatening of a telling retaliatory response. "Beware, beware, remember February 2019 and be ready for a quick retaliation while casting an evil eye on us," he said during his address to the Upper House (Senate) of Pakistan. Qureshi lashed out at Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian External Affairs Minister S. <keyword id="236448" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jaishankar">Jaishankar</keyword>, asserting, "Pakistan can't be cowed down by the Indians." Qureshi also reiterated Islamabad's inclination towards Beijing in the recent deadly clashes in Ladakh between Indian and Chinese forces, stating that Indian soldiers were suffering casualties there. "There is a dramatic shift in the region. China has openly landed in the arena against India," he said. "Nepal, which was thought to be completely under India's influence, is now making claims on some disputed areas with India, while Sri Lanka and Bhutan also had their objections. Afghanistan also thinks India is impeding reconciliation process there," he added. Qureshi briefed the Senate stating that India is facing isolation and New Delhi is feeling the pressure. He also reiterated Islamabad's concerns over what they call a false-flag operation by New Delhi aimed at diverting attention of the global community from the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, which has remained under lockdown for almost a year now. Qureshi's aggressive remarks came at a time when the Imran Khan-led government is facing serious criticism from its opposition parties for failing to raise the issue of Kashmir at the UN platform and giving India a walkover to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. While Pakistan voted against India's contention for the non-permanent membership, its vote didn't matter as a heavy majority voted in favour of New Delhi. "Though it was a secret balloting, Pakistan openly said that it had voted against India for last year's August 5 unconstitutional steps it took in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and for violating the UN Charter, UNSC resolutions and international norms," maintained Qureshi. Pakistan's anger over India's inclusion into the UNSC is understandable as its ongoing diplomatic campaign to attract support against the Modi government for its decision taken on August 5, 2019, abrogating Articles 370 and 35A, changing the special status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories, in the United Nations has practically failed to yield results. Tensions at the Line of Control (LoC) have also intensified in the recent days as heavy exchanges of artillery firing have claimed lives of border security forces and civilians on both sides. Pakistan and India both have been lodging strong protests against the ceasefire violations, summoning senior diplomats of respective high commissions to record their protests. Tensions are expected to flare up in the coming days as August 5, 2020 inches closer, marking one year of the lockdown in Jammu and Kashmir, for which Islamabad is gearing up to stage protests, rallies and international conferences. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/experts-believe-that-the-india-china-border-dispute-is-unlikely-to-turn-into-another-war-like-the-one-in-1962/articleshow/76128454.cms">India and China are testing each other at the Ladakh border— but it won’t be another war like in 1962, according to experts</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/foreign-policy/news/the-fear-of-china-has-put-the-global-spotlight-on-india-its-raked-up-three-comprehensive-strategic-partnerships-in-the-last-24-months/slidelist/76258833.cms">The fear of China has put the global spotlight on India ⁠⁠— its raked up three Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships in the last 24 months</a>

Pakistan warns India 'to be ready for quick retaliation' amid LoC tensions and UNSC membership

Pakistan used the threat of nuclear weapons as a "magic word" to deter India from punishing terrorists hiding across the border, but that changed after the surgical strikes and the Balakot air strikes, former India Army officers said on Thursday. The 2016 surgical strikes after the Uri attack on an Indian Army base, the Balakot air strike this year and a change in the "Indian psyche" together were instrumental in calling Pakistan's nuclear bluff, Lt Gen (retd) Amit Sharma and Maj Gen (retd) Dhruv C Katoch said. They made the remarks during the launch of the book, "The Bugle Calls: A Life in the Indian Army", written by Lt. Colonel (retd) Naresh Rastogi and former diplomat Kiran Doshi. "These surgical strikes, with full support from the political authority, represented a dramatic shift in our approach," said Maj Gen Katoch. "It was a different ball game altogether. The message was very clear: 'Do what you want', but we (India) won't be deterred by a nuclear threat," he said. He said India called Pakistan's bluff twice with surgical strikes and air strikes. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan during his maiden speech at the 74th UN General Assembly devoted most of his time to India and Kashmir, drumming up hysteria over a possible nuclear war after New Delhi revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August. Calling Khan's nuclear war threat "immature" and "plain brinkmanship", Lt Gen Sharma said all this rhetoric was done to direct the international attention towards Kashmir. He said the "entire existence" of Pakistan's political and military leadership is about Kashmir. But with Article 370 gone, they really don't know what to do, he added. "Now, they are trying to get the world to do something to India by scaring the world with nuclear weapons. I feel this is brinkmanship, no country goes to nuclear war over these things," Lt Gen Sharma, who was the Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Forces Command in 2014, said. Citing the book, he talked about an interaction between a Pakistani army officer and an Indian Army officer. The Pakistani officer told the Indian officer, "Indians are like batsmen, you have to stop us every time, and we are bowlers who have to get through only once". This, he said, was the Pakistani psyche for a long time and they have used the threat of using nuclear weapons as a "magic word" to stop India from doing acting against terrorists. But not anymore, he asserted. "This psyche changed after Balakot and Uri surgical strikes," he said. "From being batsmen, we are now googly bowlers. That is we have become offensive ... Today, we have a government which is offensive," he said. On the question of India's "No First Use' policy, Maj Gen Katoch brought the attention to the second line of the policy which, he said, is very categorical about "massive retaliation". "It (India) will not use nuclear weapons first, but if attacked, and that is where the actual philosophy comes in, there will be massive response, massive retaliation. I think that is the lesson people should not forget," he said. He said he feels Pakistan lacks the capacity to actually carry out the nuclear threat. "If they do so, the consequences to Pakistan would be severe and that country will no longer exist," he warned. Published by Westland, the book, "The Bugle Calls-A Life in the Indian Army", is a candid, racy, humorous memoir of a life lived in the Indian Army.

India has called Pak's nuclear bluff twice: Ex-Army officers

<ul><li>Experts believe that the India-China border dispute is unlikely to turn into another war like the one in 1962.</li><li>The is the longest faceoff between the troops of the two nations since the 73-day bout of skirmishes at Dokhlam in 2017.</li><li>“China doesn’t want to overthrow the US-led global order, it just wants to capture the existing one and rule over it,” former foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said an online seminar hosted by the Chennai International Centre.</li></ul>India and China both seem firm in their resolve and have told the press that they will not be compromising on their respective national security and sovereignty. Meanwhile, numerous unauthenticated leaked videos and images show incidents of violence and altercations between the troops along the <keyword id="49399" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Line-of-Actual-Control">Line of Actual Control</keyword> (LAC). “If you look at the past few years, you have two sides building infrastructure next to ache other. They are testing each other’s boundaries. And such stand-offs are becoming a pattern in their relations,” said James Crabtree from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy during an online seminar organised by the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgRhMNIPVu0">Chennai International Centre</a>. The central issue is that the India-China border is not demarcated and not defined. “I was there in 1959, 60, 61, 62. The two sides try to play chess at the border but to use the term ‘military stand-off’ is too much,” added former National Security Agency (NSA) advisor, MK Narayanan at the same seminar. <div type="image" title="India China border" msid="76128507" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;A Chinese soldier shares light moment with an Indian officer at Nathu La on the India-China border&amp;lt;br /&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> A larger strategic shift in the works Instead, Narayanan and policy expert <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/the-ladakh-warning-india-china-border-dispute-6427131/">P Stobdan</a>, believe that the India-China border dispute could be indicative of a larger strategic shift — a hint at China’s foreign policy set to become more assertive in the future. “China doesn’t want to overthrow the US-led global order, it just wants to capture the existing one and rule over it,” former foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said during the seminar on Friday, May 29. They opine that it’s not only about the LAC. This time the incursions are occurring in the aftermath of the Indian government revoking Jammu and Kashmir special status under Article 370 and 35A, which China described as ‘unacceptable’ and undermining the regions ‘sovereignty’ and consequently also raised the issue at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/five-treaties-to-address-india-china-border-issue-experts-warn-modi-to-remain-cautious/articleshow/76085340.cms">Gautam Chikermane</a>, the Vice President of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), adds that this many just be a ploy for China to distract from other issues on the national front. “This time around, China’s incursions may be another episodic distraction from it territorial ambitions in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/photos-show-democracy-protests-reigniting-in-hong-kong-after-china-passed-a-sweeping-measure-to-crush-the-cityaposs-autonomy/slidelist/76080206.cms">Hong Kong</a> and Taiwan.” Build up of troops amid India-China border dispute The standoff between India and China has been ongoing for nearly 25 days now since the first reports of violence in Galwan Valley on May 5. India’s Defence Minister, Rajnath Nath Singh, told the press that both countries are engaged in dialogue at military and diplomatic levels. Citing the example of the 73-day standoff at Doklam in 2017, Singh said that even at that tie India had held firm but the issue was eventually resolved through dialogue. Brahma Chellaney, a professor for strategic studies at the Center for Policy Reserach in New Delhi, believes that Singh’s words are an admission that China is changing the status quo along the border. “China moved troops to occupy areas where not only Indian and Chinese claim lines overlapped but also where there was no dispute. In other others, through swift aggression planned months in advance, China has changed the status quo in both disputed and undisputed borderlands,” he said. <div type="twitter" handle="Chellaney" handlename="Brahma Chellaney" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1022384333636743168/F8fO_qKO_normal.jpg" favoritecount="1301" retweetcount="438" status="Please note that the Indian defense minister has implicitly admitted China's forcible change of the status quo in L… https://t.co/5FPyzmxye3" createdat="1590890455000" id="1266912512018018304"></div> Both sides are continuing to call up more armaments on the border in Ladakh. The Chinese troops have reportedly been deploying more artillery guns, infantry combat vehicles and heavy military equipment. And, the Indian side has been matching their build-up with its own guns and tanks, sources told <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-china-bring-in-heavy-equipment-and-weaponry-to-their-rear-bases-near-eastern-ladakh/articleshow/76123257.cms">TOI</a>. The Galwan Valley is not the only area where these face-to-face altercations are taking place. Sources say that the ramp-up is also happening at Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie, two areas known for being the sites of skirmishes in the past. Planet Labs Images disclosed by detresfa, an analyst with intelligence consultancy ShadowBreak Intl, show ‘possible’ boat patrols along the southernmost point at Finger 4 in Pangong Tso Lake. Images also show India and China building up their troops at pre-existing positions at Pangong Tso and Gogra. <div type="twitter" handle="detresfa_" handlename="d-atis☠️" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1238791984736690176/_y_iZKw__normal.png" favoritecount="859" retweetcount="318" status="1 Data showing #India building up forces near its pre-existing positions at #PangongTso &amp; #Gogra opposite to &amp; mirr… https://t.co/wgyKABZuzD" createdat="1590831764000" id="1266666343480168449"></div> <div type="twitter" handle="detresfa_" handlename="d-atis☠️" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1238791984736690176/_y_iZKw__normal.png" favoritecount="237" retweetcount="67" status="Possible #PangongTso boat patrols spotted opposite the southern most point at finger 4, close to the #China claim l… https://t.co/n3rtc9vy2l" createdat="1590936390000" id="1267105177376448512"></div> According to experts, the trigger for the standoff was China’s stiff opposition to India’s infrastructure development in the ‘Finger Area’ around Pangong Tso Lake in addition to revamping the Darbuk-Shayok-Dault Beg Oldie Road. Sources told <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-china-bring-in-heavy-equipment-and-weaponry-to-their-rear-bases-near-eastern-ladakh/articleshow/76123257.cms">TOI</a> that China was also laying its own inroads in the ‘Finger Area’ which is not acceptable to India. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/remove-china-apps-races-to-1-million-downloads-within-two-weeks-as-anti-china-sentiment-gains-momentum/articleshow/76128369.cms">‘Remove China Apps’ races to 1 million downloads within two weeks as anti-China sentiment gains momentum</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/five-treaties-to-address-india-china-border-issue-experts-warn-modi-to-remain-cautious/articleshow/76085340.cms">India says there are five treaties to push the Chinese army behind the Line of Actual Control⁠ — while experts tell Modi to remain cautious</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/news/trump-feels-that-modi-is-not-in-a-good-mood-over-big-conflict-with-china/articleshow/76084735.cms">Trump feels that Modi is not in a 'good mood' over 'big conflict' with China</a>

India and China are testing each other at the Ladakh border— but it won’t be another war like in 1962, according to experts

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Indian-controlled state of Jammu and Kashmir has been on lockdown since August - making it the longest lockdown to ever take place in a democratic state. </li><li>India has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kashmir-india-territory-downgrade-flag-constitution-internet-blackout-2019-10">imposed</a> curfews and internet blackouts across the region, stifling local business like the saffron and apple trades.</li><li>India's supreme court has since ruled the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-top-court-proclaims-kashmir-internet-blackout-unconstitutional-2020-1">indefinite internet blackout unlawful</a>, and ordered the government to review the restrictions.</li><li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/BusinessInsiderToday/470155010549573/">Business Insider Weekly</a> visited Kashmir to learn how a government lockdown is affecting local farmers and traders. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul>PAMPORE, Kashmir - Ashiq Rashid's family has been farming saffron for more than 80 years - since before their homeland, Kashmir, was a disputed territory between India and Pakistan."We've been farming saffron for generations - from my great-grandfather, grandfather, my father. Now it's me. I'm farming," Rashid told <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/BusinessInsiderToday/470155010549573/">Business Insider Weekly</a>.About 7% of the world's saffron is harvested in the Indian-controlled union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, making India one of the top exporters since it gained control of part of the region in 1947. But saffron farmers like Rashid have struggled ever since India's government has put Kashmir on lockdown, imposing an internet blackout and region-wide curfews as well as stepping up its military presence. It's been more than five months since the lockdown begain in August, making it the <a href="https://www.insider.com/kashmir-internet-shut-down-imposed-india-longest-ever-by-democracy-2019-12">longest ever imposed in a democratic state</a>."During conflicts, a farmer cannot go to work. He cannot tend to his land, so that affects productivity," Rashid said.This year, life in Indian-administered Kashmir became even more unbearable.On August 5, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/08/06/this-is-modi-governments-darkest-moment/">revoked Article 370</a> of India's constitution, ending decades of semi-autonomous rule for the Muslim-majority Kashmir.The Indian government sent in <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/28-000-more-troops-deployed-in-kashmir-valley-1576280-2019-08-02">38,000 extra troops</a> to smother any signs of dissent, critics say. Modi also imposed a curfew, blocked roads, and shut off most forms of communication, including the internet.India's supreme court ruled on Friday that the indefinite internet shutdown is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-top-court-proclaims-kashmir-internet-blackout-unconstitutional-2020-1">unlawful</a>, ordering the government to review the restrictions on the region. Additionally, the court ordered India's government to make public its orders on internet shutdowns, which the government deploys often. India has experienced <a href="https://internetshutdowns.in/">353 internet shutdowns</a> since 2016. The lockdown has enraged Kashmiris, and stifled businesses that rely on the internet."Many farmers, many product sellers in Kashmir used to sell their products on online websites like Amazon, Flipkart and other online websites," Sajad Rafeeq, a former saffron farmer, told Business Insider Weekly. "So when there's, you know, any kind of shutdown or when there's, you know, conflict and the communication is not good, so all of the industry gets affected."Recently, the Indian government has slowly begun restoring communications. Cellphone service returned in October, and on the first day of 2020, internet access was granted to government schools and hospitals, albeit with heavy restrictions. Most residents are still living without it. Experts are already noticing early consequences of the lockdown."The Kashmiris have always felt that they have a distinctive identity, especially the Muslims in the Valley and that had actually been written into the constitution," Sumit Ganguly, a political science professor at Indiana University, told Business Insider Weekly. "Now they feel that that special status, which had been eroded over time, has now been completely abrogated."<h2>Turmoil in the region dates back to more than 70 years ago.</h2>Turmoil in Kashmir started more than 70 years ago, when India and Pakistan <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/08/asia/india-pakistan-independence-timeline/index.html">gained their independence from the British</a> in 1947. The dispute over who controlled the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir gave rise to three wars and other armed conflicts over the region.To this day, India blames Pakistan for stirring the unrest by backing separatist militants - a charge its neighbor denies.At least 4,000 people have died in violent clashes in Kashmir over the past decade or so - including 1000 Indian security forces, <a href="http://jkccs.net/">according to a nonprofit</a> based in the city of Srinagar. Still, in the past five months, it's gotten even harder to sustain commerce at every level.In October, unidentified gunmen <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-kashmir-apples/suspected-militants-kill-two-in-indian-kashmir-set-apple-trucks-ablaze-idUSKBN1X328R">set fire to three apple trucks</a> in Indian Kashmir's Shopian district, killing two drivers and stoking more fear. Apple farming is the pillar of the region's economy, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-kashmir-apples/kashmir-apple-trade-picks-up-again-under-shadow-of-militant-attacks-idUSKBN1WX1LY">employing half of the population</a>, about 3.5 million people. In fact, 70% of India's apples came from Kashmir last year, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2019-10-28/india-kashmir-economy-crackdown">contributing $1.5 billion</a> to the Indian economy.But now, Kashmiri fruit traders like Maqbool Hussain say they're having trouble getting their produce to market."If nobody comes to buy apples from outside, then how will Kashmiri apples sell?" Hussain said. "We can't find anyone to work in the markets. Almonds are spoiling. Walnut sales have gone down by 60%."<h2>The fallout can be felt hundreds of miles away in neighboring Ladakh.</h2>The fallout from the conflict can also be felt hundreds of miles away from the violence, in the serene mountains of Ladakh, a neighboring region that's also administered by India. There, herders like Karma Takgol still <a href="https://www.utsavpedia.com/textiles/pashmina/">gather raw wool from Tibetan goats</a> the way they have since the 15th century."Old people say that the villages with the coldest weather have the best pashmina," Takgol told Business Insider Weekly.India officially split Ladakh from the rest of Jammu and Kashmir in October, creating a separate territory that is mostly Buddhist. The army maintains the only road connecting Ladakh to the rest of India.But no matter where the government draws its lines around Kashmir, what happens across the mountains can still be felt in the birthplace of the material that carries its name - cashmere - known locally as pashmina.As traditional industries have suffered because of the conflict, the Indian government has at times tried to support the local economy. A federal agency offered to buy up Kashmir's apple crop in October, but farmers said the rates were too low and many didn't take up the offer. The country's leaders also devised a plan a decade ago to help saffron growers combat drought, with a $57 million proposal to irrigate the land.But several farmers, including Gulam Rasool Bhat, told us the scheme has failed."The government promised proper irrigation. Funds were sanctioned and infrastructure built, but no actual assistance was provided," Bhat said. "They even charged us 5,000 rupees per acre for providing irrigation - still nothing was done."Now, Kashmiris say the Indian government's help cannot make up for the way that the heavy military presence, internet blackout, and curfews have upended the economy. Saffron farmers like Rashid said that "because of the conflict here, the curfew here, our ambitions remain unfulfilled.""Younger people feel angry that I want to increase the productivity of my land," he said. "We hope our desires will be fulfilled but the conflict and curfew here don't allow us to prosper."

Kashmir's 5-month internet blackout is the longest ever imposed in a democracy - and it's stifling local workers

<ul><li>The <keyword id="4317233" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Media-and-Entertainment">Indian Media and Entertainment</keyword> (M&amp;E) sector reached Rs 1.82 trillion (US$25.7 billion) in 2019. </li><li>Digital subscription revenues more than doubled from 2018 levels and digital advertising revenues grew to command 24% of total advertising spend.</li><li>Digital media overtook filmed entertainment in 2019 to become the third largest segment of the M&amp;E sector.</li><li>While the exact impact of Coronavirus is not yet known, if the current state of lockdown continues for over a month, the sector could be looking at flat growth. A 3-month lockdown could lead to a de-growth of 25%.</li></ul>The Indian Media and Entertainment (M&amp;E) sector reached Rs 1.82 trillion (US$25.7 billion) in 2019, a growth of 9% over 2018 states the <keyword id="6355001" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="ficci">FICCI</keyword> EY report ‘The era of consumer A.R.T. – Acquisition Retention and Transaction,’ launched today. With its current trajectory, the M&amp;E sector in India is expected to cross Rs 2.4 trillion (US$34 billion) by 2022, at a CAGR of 10%. However, FICCI and EY clarified that the findings of this report had not taken into consideration the rapidly evolving impact of Covid-19 on the industry. While television and print retained their positions as the two largest segments, digital media overtook filmed entertainment in 2019 to become the third largest segment of the M&amp;E sector. Digital subscription revenues more than doubled from 2018 levels and digital advertising revenues grew to command 24% of total advertising spend. The sector continues to grow at a rate faster than the GDP, driven primarily by growth in subscription-based business models and India’s attractiveness as a content production and post production destination. The rapid proliferation of mobile access is enabling on-demand, anytime-anywhere content consumption nationwide. With a population of 1.3 billion, a tele-density approaching 89% of households, 688 million internet subscribers and nearly 400 million smartphone users, India’s telecom industry is poised to become the primary platform for content distribution and consumption. India ranks as one of the fastest-growing app markets globally, where entertainment apps are driving significant consumer engagement. Online gaming retained its position as the fastest growing segment on the back of transaction-based games mainly fantasy sports, increased in-app purchases and a 31% growth in the number of online gamers to reach around 365 million. <keyword id="105547" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uday-Shankar">Uday Shankar</keyword>, Vice President, FICCI and Chair, FICCI Media and Entertainment Division, said, “Riding the wave of exponential progress made towards digital accessibility and adoption, the M&amp;E industry has been a forerunner of a dynamic and aspirational India. New products and business models are being imagined to capitalize on the rise in media consumption. Global players are recognizing the need to build India-centric offerings. The coming years are likely to usher in greater innovation in content formats, means of dissemination, and business models.” <keyword id="263905" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashish-Pherwani">Ashish Pherwani</keyword>, Partner and Media &amp; Entertainment Leader, <keyword id="1919178" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="EY-India">EY India</keyword>, stated, “The M&amp;E sector witnessed a surge in content consumption as digital infrastructure, quantum of content produced and per-capita income increased in 2019. Driven by the ability to create direct-to-customer relationships, the sector firmly pivoted towards a B2C operating model, changing the way it measured itself. As entertainment and information options grew and choice increased the era of consumer Acquisition, Retention and Transaction (ART) redefined the media value chain leading to the emergence of many new trends and strategies across content, distribution, consumption and monetization.” “The Coronavirus outbreak will have a significant adverse impact on the sector, the situation is still evolving both in India and many parts of the world, the scale of the impact cannot be estimated immediately,” he added. He further stated that if the lockdown goes beyond a month, the M&amp;E sector can expect a flat growth. Moreover, if the lockdown is extended to 3 months, it could lead to a de-growth of 25% for the sector. Key findings: Television: The TV industry grew from Rs 740 billion to Rs 788 billion in 2019, a growth of 6.5%. TV advertising grew 5% to Rs 320 billion while subscription grew 7% to Rs 468 billion. Regional channels benefited from the New Tariff Order as their consumption increased by over 20% in certain cases. General entertainment and movie channels led with 74% of viewership. On the back of several key announcements by the central and state governments such as Article 370, the Citizenship Amendment Act, and a general election, the news genre witnessed a growth to almost 9% of total viewership, up from 7.3% in 2018. In sports cricket emerged as the big winner in 2019 as it accounted for over 80% of the sports viewership, up from 70% last year, due to the ICC World Cup. Key insights - Television will remain the largest earner of advertising revenues even in 2025, approaching Rs 570 billion. Viewership of regional language channels will continue to grow and reach 55% of total viewership in India as their content quality improves further. Content viewed on smart TV sets will begin to reflect that consumed on mobile phones, providing a window for user generated content companies and other non-broadcasters to serve content on the connected television screen. Print: Despite a 3% revenue de-growth at Rs 296 billion, print continued to retain the second largest share of the Indian M&amp;E sector. Circulation revenues increased by 2% to Rs 90 billion as newspaper companies tactically increased prices in certain markets. Advertising revenues fell 5% to Rs 206 billion in 2019 as AdEX volumes fell by 8%. Margins improved as newsprint cost measures were implemented and companies benefited from the reduction of newsprint prices. Key insights – 2019 witnessed a significant growth in digital news consumers over 2018 when 300 million Indians consumed news online. Most large print companies had a defined digital business, with two companies crossing Rs 1 billion in digital revenues. Digital subscription, though nascent, has increased as several publications have put digital products behind a paywall. Digital media: In 2019, digital media grew 31% to reach Rs 221 billion and is expected to grow at 23% CAGR to reach Rs 414 billion by 2022. Digital advertising grew 24% to Rs 192 billion driven by increased consumption of content on digital platforms and marketeers’ preference to measure performance. SME and long tail advertisers increased their spends on digital media as well.Pay digital subscribers crossed 10 million for the first time as sports and other premium content were put behind a paywall.Consequently, subscription revenue grew 106% to Rs 29 billion. Digital consumption grew across platforms where video viewers increased by 16%, audio streamers by 33% and news consumers by 22%. Key insights: By 2020, OTT subscription market will approximate 10% of the total TV subscription market (without, however, considering data charges).We estimate over 40 million connected TVs by 2025, which will provide a huge opportunity for content creators to reach family consumers.Better bandwidth will drive large screen consumption. By 2025, 750 million smart phone screens will also increase the demand for regional, UGC and short content, creating a short video ecosystem that can create significant employment.The battle for content discovery will intensity and move to the unified interface. Films: The Indian film segment grew 10% in 2019 to reach Rs 191 billion driven by the growth in domestic theatrical revenues and both rates and volume of digital/ OTT rights sold. Domestic film revenues crossed Rs 115 billion with Gross Box Office collections for Hindi films at RS 49.5 billion – the highest ever for Hindi theatricals. Overseas theatricals revenues fell 10% to Rs 27 billion despite more films being released abroad primarily as films with superstars didn’t perform as well in 2019. 108 Hollywood films were released in 2019 as compared to 98 in 2018. The gross box office collections of Hollywood films in India (inclusive of all their Indian language dubbed versions) grew 33% to reach Rs 16 billion. As single screens continued to reduce, the total screen count decreased by 74 to 9,527. Key Insights: Digital rights continued to grow in 2019 with an increase in revenues from Rs 13.5 billion in 2018 to RS 19 billion in 2019. Digital release windows shortened with some movies releasing on OTT platforms even before their release on television. In-cinema advertising grew marginally to RS 7.7 billion in 2019 as multiplexes and advertising aggregators started signing long-term deals with brands. Seventeen hindi films entered the coveted RS 100 crore club in 2019, which is the highest ever. Interestingly, six movies made it to the Rs 200 crore club in 2019, as opposed to three in 2018. The future will be driven by immersive content (technology and VFX rich) experiences to drive theatrical footfalls and some genres of films could migrate to home viewership only.We can expect to see creation of a segmented Hindi-mass product for the heartland at low ticket prices.

You Searched For "article 370 consequences" and got 10 results

What will change in Jammu & Kashmir after the end of Article 370

BI India Bureau

Article 35A - What will change in Jammu Kashmir after the end of Article 35 A

BI India Bureau

‘Betrayal, catastrophe, dangerous’ J&K leaders livid as India scraps Article 370 and bifurcates the state

Sanchita Dash

Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh will now be two separate Union Territories

Prabhjote Gill

Bollywood teaches more about Kashmir than India’s schools

SCMP

Pakistan warns India 'to be ready for quick retaliation' amid LoC tensions and UNSC membership

IANS

India has called Pak's nuclear bluff twice: Ex-Army officers

PTI

India and China are testing each other at the Ladakh border— but it won’t be another war like in 1962, according to experts

Prabhjote Gill

Kashmir's 5-month internet blackout is the longest ever imposed in a democracy - and it's stifling local workers

Havovi Cooper

Indian media and entertainment industry grew by 9% to reach Rs 1.82 trillion in 2019: FICCI-EY report 2020

BI India Partner

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