Hawzah News Agency -  India has formally divided the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir into two new federally-administered territories, aiming to tighten its grip on the restive Himalayan valley.

Under the new arrangement, the state was formally taken on Thursday under direct federal control and split into the territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, which borders China.

Speaking in his home state of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed what he called a "bright future" for the blood-soaked Himalayan region.

Kashmir was "the only place where terrorism killed around 40,000 people in the last three decades. So many mothers lost their sons... For how long could have just kept watching the innocents die?" Modi said.

"We are happy that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are moving towards a new future from today onwards. Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir today are taking steps for their bright future," he added.

Amid tight security, low-key ceremonies were held in Srinagar and Leh -- the region’s main cities -- to have two new lieutenant governors sworn into office.