ICAI holds council meeting in Pahalgam, first such high-level gathering since April 22 attack
India's 79th Independence Day
, becoming the first national institution to hold a high-level meeting there since the attack on April 22 when terrorists shot dead 26 civilians.
Independence Day 2025
Op Sindoor to water cutoff: PM Modi slams Pak in I-Day speech
GST reforms by Diwali to cut daily-use taxes: PM Modi
Terrorism, tech, more: PM's I-Day speech highlights
The gathering of around 150 members comprising ICAI members and their families served as a beacon of hope for a community still reeling from loss and uncertainty in the aftermath of the April terror attack.
The ICAI decided to host its 445th council meeting in Pahalgam from August 12-14, 2025 and its president Charanjot Singh Nanda said it was a conscious effort to rebuild trust and signal a return to normalcy.
"As we celebrate the 79th Independence Day in Pahalgam, our message is clear, ICAI stands united with the Valley. Our presence here is more than symbolic; it is a testament to hope, a reaffirmation that normal life will return, and a promise to work together for lasting peace and shared prosperity," Nanda said after hoisting the national tricolour at Pine and Peak Hotel where they celebrated the Independence Day.
He said the bookings were done in March for hosting the event in May but had to be postponed because of the unfortunate incident.
Live Events
"The prime minister, the home minister assured the country that it was safe to travel to Pahalgam and therefore, we took the decision," Nanda said, adding he was personally enthused to see
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah
leading the campaign for a revival of tourism in Kashmir Valley.
"This council meeting was not just an agenda of governance, it was a declaration of courage, continuity, and collective resilience. By bringing our members and their families to the Valley, we wanted to show that the spirit of Kashmir remains unshaken.
"Beyond our role in accounting, governance reforms, and economic revival, ICAI is committed to standing firm against the forces of terror, and to being a partner in building a secure and thriving future for this land," he said.
Vice President of ICAI, Prasanna Kumar D, said his organisation "is the first institution to visit Pahalgam with its entire senior leadership after the tragic incident.
"It is a proud moment to celebrate this Independence Day here. It reflects our commitment to the people of the Valley and solidarity to our armed forces," he said.
During various speeches made during the flag hoisting, the ICAI members reaffirmed their commitment to support local livelihoods, encouraging commerce and everyday joys to return to Pahalgam.
Earlier on August 12, Abdullah had met the ICAI council members and extended heartfelt thanks for choosing Pahalgam for this landmark event.
"Your presence here has a lot of weight... it sends a powerful message of confidence and support. It reflects your belief in this place and reassures our people that better days lie ahead," he said. PTI
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
14 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Independence Day fuels a revival in retail sales
Synopsis Independence Day sales boosted retail across India. Discounts increased foot traffic and sales by 8-10%. Electronics, groceries, and apparel saw strong demand. Restaurants benefited from mall traffic and movie releases. Retailers hope for a strong festive season. Reliance Retail and BigBasket reported significant sales growth. Malls saw increased footfalls. The government plans to rationalize GST rates to boost consumption. Independence Day discounts have lifted footfalls and sales by 8-10% YoY across key retail destinations in the country, with a revival in entry-to-mid segment demand raising hopes of a strong festive of electronics, particularly in the more affordable segments, groceries and apparel have picked up, while restaurants are benefiting from higher mall traffic boosted by new movie releases and a rise in in-home dining orders, industry executives said. 'After several months, there is good demand for entry to mid-segment products,' said Nilesh Gupta, director at electronic retail chain Vijay are good and there is over 8% jump in sales value over last year, which is better than last year, he companies and grocery retailers run promotional offers specifically for the Independence Day eve--one of the largest consumption periods, along with the Republic Day sales, after the festive season. At India's largest retailer Reliance Retail, sales grew in double digits over last year, an executive has been running I-day promotional offers across the consumption basket—electronics, groceries and fashion, and keeping stores open from early morning till late India president Satish NS said the electronics manufacturer's I-Day sales are up over 20% compared to last year, with most categories driving ecommerce app BigBasket reported a 42% on-year increase in patriotic merchandise sales on Friday, apart from a surge in sales of electronics including iPhone said footfalls have surged due to long weekends, discounts on offer, and new movie releases, powered by Rajinikanth's Coolie and Hrithik Roshan's War 2.'The crowd that comes for the movie adds at least 10% of the revenue for fashion brands, food and beverages,' said Harsh V Bansal, cofounder of Unity Group, which operates over half a dozen malls in Delhi and Punjab. 'The next few days also look good in terms of footfall and sales,' he the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, theatres are seeing back-to-back movies going housefull, Bansal of the I-Day offers are continuing till the weekend.'International brands have contributed to the growth with consumers using the lower price point during the sale to buy products,' said Muhammad Ali, chief executive, retail, at Prestige Group, which operates five malls in South India. These malls have seen a 15% on-year growth in sales. 'One segment which has not done well is Indian women's wear, which is a cause of worry,' Ali said. Rebound hopes Retailers and brands have been struggling with discretionary sales for the last 9-10 quarters, as low-to-middle-income consumers remained hard-pressed by high inflation and sluggish earnings growth. Higher spending on travel and tourism by many consumers also impacted retail sales, executives executives, however, have forecasted a recovery in consumption in the second half of this fiscal, aided by low inflation, low interest rates on loans, a reduction in income-tax rates this year and good monsoon rains. 'While middle class discretionary spending was under pressure, some consumption has started and with the festival tail wind, the outlook is much better,' said Anjan Chatterjee, managing director of Speciality Restaurants, which operates chains like Mainland China and Oh! Calcutta. The trend during Independence Day has been reassuring, with a 15-18% year-on-year growth, he government on Friday said GST rates will be rationalised to enhance affordability, boost consumption, and make essential and aspirational goods more accessible to a wider population by Diwali which too will bring back has been optimism across companies with sales during June and July improving sequentially after intermittent rains and early onset of monsoon impacted sales in the April-May period.
Time of India
14 minutes ago
- Time of India
Chakra & consumption
PM's 2 key promises from Red Fort Two themes stood out in Modi's I-Day address. Mission Sudarshan Chakra, he said, will be a powerful platform that will protect both public places and critical infra, and be operational by 2035. This is evoking comparisons with Israel's Iron Dome. More relevant is the stellar performance of the Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS) and Akashteer during Op Sindoor. But air defence is an evolving tech. India faces two issues. First, versatile and rapidly improving battlefield drones. IACCS and Akashteer need upgrades for this. Second, we are still using diverse platforms – Indian, Russian, Israeli, etc. This is less than ideal. If Sudarshan Chakra can address both these concerns, it will be a massive boost for military self-reliance. On GST, Modi promised Indians will pay a whole lot less for a lot of stuff they buy. Pegging this to Diwali was classic Modi. From what he said and what officials briefed later, the biggest GST reform since its inception will make it basically a 2-rate system – 5% and 18% (a few 'sin' goods will be taxed at 40%). That will be a huge improvement on the current, complicated 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% structure. Consumers are likely to benefit from a large number of consumer goods moving from the 12% to 5% rate, some from 18% to 5%, and axing of the eye-watering 28% rate. Health insurance premiums may finally get taxed at a lower rate. That there'll be procedural rationalisation, too, makes this mithai sweeter. And that GOI seems ready to take a revenue hit initially and bet on higher consumption to make this up down the line, is welcome reformist spirit. BJP will hope lower prices will be a vote attractor in poll-bound Bihar, a densely populated poor state. But that takes nothing away from the significance of what Modi promised. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.
Time of India
14 minutes ago
- Time of India
Independence Day fuels a revival in retail sales
Independence Day sales boosted retail across India. Discounts increased foot traffic and sales by 8-10%. Electronics, groceries, and apparel saw strong demand. Restaurants benefited from mall traffic and movie releases. Retailers hope for a strong festive season. Reliance Retail and BigBasket reported significant sales growth. Malls saw increased footfalls. The government plans to rationalize GST rates to boost consumption. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Independence Day discounts have lifted footfalls and sales by 8-10% YoY across key retail destinations in the country, with a revival in entry-to-mid segment demand raising hopes of a strong festive of electronics, particularly in the more affordable segments, groceries and apparel have picked up, while restaurants are benefiting from higher mall traffic boosted by new movie releases and a rise in in-home dining orders, industry executives said.'After several months, there is good demand for entry to mid-segment products,' said Nilesh Gupta, director at electronic retail chain Vijay Sales Walk-ins are good and there is over 8% jump in sales value over last year, which is better than last year, he companies and grocery retailers run promotional offers specifically for the Independence Day eve--one of the largest consumption periods, along with the Republic Day sales, after the festive India's largest retailer Reliance Retail, sales grew in double digits over last year, an executive has been running I-day promotional offers across the consumption basket—electronics, groceries and fashion, and keeping stores open from early morning till late India president Satish NS said the electronics manufacturer's I-Day sales are up over 20% compared to last year, with most categories driving ecommerce app BigBasket reported a 42% on-year increase in patriotic merchandise sales on Friday, apart from a surge in sales of electronics including iPhone said footfalls have surged due to long weekends, discounts on offer, and new movie releases, powered by Rajinikanth's Coolie and Hrithik Roshan's War 2.'The crowd that comes for the movie adds at least 10% of the revenue for fashion brands, food and beverages,' said Harsh V Bansal, cofounder of Unity Group, which operates over half a dozen malls in Delhi and Punjab. 'The next few days also look good in terms of footfall and sales,' he the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, theatres are seeing back-to-back movies going housefull, Bansal of the I-Day offers are continuing till the weekend.'International brands have contributed to the growth with consumers using the lower price point during the sale to buy products,' said Muhammad Ali, chief executive, retail, at Prestige Group, which operates five malls in South India. These malls have seen a 15% on-year growth in sales. 'One segment which has not done well is Indian women's wear, which is a cause of worry,' Ali and brands have been struggling with discretionary sales for the last 9-10 quarters, as low-to-middle-income consumers remained hard-pressed by high inflation and sluggish earnings growth. Higher spending on travel and tourism by many consumers also impacted retail sales, executives executives, however, have forecasted a recovery in consumption in the second half of this fiscal, aided by low inflation, low interest rates on loans, a reduction in income-tax rates this year and good monsoon rains.'While middle class discretionary spending was under pressure, some consumption has started and with the festival tail wind, the outlook is much better,' said Anjan Chatterjee, managing director of Speciality Restaurants , which operates chains like Mainland China and Oh! trend during Independence Day has been reassuring, with a 15-18% year-on-year growth, he government on Friday said GST rates will be rationalised to enhance affordability, boost consumption, and make essential and aspirational goods more accessible to a wider population by Diwali which too will bring back has been optimism across companies with sales during June and July improving sequentially after intermittent rains and early onset of monsoon impacted sales in the April-May period.
