New Delhi, Sept. 14 -- Srinagar: On a late summer morning in Kashmir's Pulwama, bees hum over the violet blooms of saffron fields, their buzzing almost blending into the Himalayan breeze. For 20-year-old Sania Zehra, this sound is more than nature's soundtrack - it's her livelihood.

Three years ago, Zehra was a physiotherapy student experimenting with 35 bee colonies. Today, she manages 650 hives, produces six quintals of honey a year, and exports to markets as far as Canada and China. "I earn far more than I ever imagined," she says, standing beside neat rows of hives in Lethpora's saffron belt.

From tradition to Rs.500 crore boom

Jammu and Kashmir's apiculture industry is booming.

Once a traditional craft practiced in villages, beek...