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| India's Maharashtra state bans beef | India's Maharashtra state bans beef |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The Indian president has approved a bill which bans the slaughter of cows and the sale and consumption of beef in the western state of Maharashtra. | The Indian president has approved a bill which bans the slaughter of cows and the sale and consumption of beef in the western state of Maharashtra. |
| Anyone found breaking the law will face a fine and up to five years in prison. | Anyone found breaking the law will face a fine and up to five years in prison. |
| Hindus, who comprise 80% of India's 1.2bn population, revere cows and the sale and consumption of beef is banned or restricted in many states. | Hindus, who comprise 80% of India's 1.2bn population, revere cows and the sale and consumption of beef is banned or restricted in many states. |
| Correspondents say most beef sold in India is actually from water buffaloes which are not considered sacred at all. | Correspondents say most beef sold in India is actually from water buffaloes which are not considered sacred at all. |
| The Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill took 19 years to become law - it was first passed by the state's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena government in 1995 and was sent to the president for approval in January 1996. | |
| The BJP, which returned to power in the state last year, once again made a push for its approval and, reports say, a group of BJP MPs from the state met President Pranab Mukherjee last week to seek his approval for the bill. | |
| Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted his thanks to the president: | |
| A BBC correspondent in Delhi says the Maharashtra beef ban is the toughest so far in India - along with cows, it also forbids the killing of bulls and bullocks and even possessing beef, which will now be considered as contraband. | |
| Unhappy beef traders in Maharashtra are checking if they can challenge the ban - they say the move will render tens of thousands jobless. | |
| Although many Hindus consider cows sacred, large numbers of India's population still eat beef and unproductive cattle are slaughtered for their meat and other products. | |
| Following the Maharashtra ban, there is concern over what will happen to bulls and bullocks or to cows too old to produce milk or to give birth. | |
| Critics of the bill say their owners, mostly farmers, could now be stuck feeding them for years until they die of natural causes. |