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.

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.

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.

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.