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Yoga will start era of harmony, says Modi
New Delhi : Yoga will lead to a new era of togetherness and harmony, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday.
Modi made the comments through video-conference as the 29th edition of the International Yoga Festival opened in Rishikesh.
Calling yoga the “journey from ‘me’ to ‘we’,” Modi said: “Yoga makes an individual a better person in thought, action, knowledge and devotion.”
“The world today is also threatened by the twin challenges — terrorism and climate change,” he said.
Talking on the global peace, Modi said, “There should be peace among nations” and “only peaceful families can constitute peaceful society”.
“Yoga is the way to create such a harmony and peace within individuals, family, society, nation and ultimately all over the world,” he added.
On combating the climate change, Modi asked people to move away from life style of “Bhoga” (consumption) to one of Yoga.
Speaking on the positive impact of Yoga and ills of modern lifestyle, Modi said: “There is ample evidence that practicing Yoga helps combat stress and chronic lifestyle-related conditions.”
The International Yoga Festival is jointly organised by the Ministry of AYUSH, the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board and the Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh.
Launding the recent achievements of Indian scientists in defence and space technologies, Modi said: “We in India believe in researching both the frontiers of science and technology, as also, researching deep within our souls, that is, both science and Yoga.”
Speaking about the cleaning of major temples and their surrounding through the Swachh Bharat Mission, the Prime Minister said: “Historically temples have played a key role in our societies.”
“Usually, they were built on a vast area of land, and often away from the residential areas and with passage of time, they were surrounded by markets, and residential colonies.”
“They face unclean surroundings as a major challenge,” he said.
The Prime Minister also said the project ‘Swachh Iconic Places’ is now part of Swachh Bharat Mission and in the first phase, Kamakhya temple, Jagannath temple, Meenakshi temple, Tirupati, the Golden temple, and Vaishno Devi temple would be spruced up.
Appreciating the work of Parmarth Niketan and Swami Chidanand Saraswati, Modi said, “Parmarth Niketan is bringing Yoga to people across the world” and recalled the “role played by Swami, in compiling the 11-volume Encyclopaedia of Hinduism”.
“Works like Encyclopaedia of Hinduism, when made available in various languages, increase the understanding and enhance the awareness of other traditions and cultures within the country,” he said.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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