Feature
After 33 years IT giant TCS winds-up operation in Lucknow
Lucknow: In a shocking news Information technology giant Tata Consultancy Services is winding up its operations in Lucknow after 33 years in the Uttar Pradesh capital.
The sudden move caught employees off guard and is likely to impact around 2,000 IT professionals. The company, however, clarified that there would be no job losses.
Though the company did not issue any formal notification, sources said it verbally communicated the decision to wrap up operations in Lucknow to its team leaders.
“Vice-president Tez Bhatla visited the Lucknow office on Wednesday and informed team managers. That was the only formal communication,” said a senior employee of the company.
Sources said one of the reasons behind the company’s decision was failed negotiations over lease agreement of the present location. The TCS office is based out of Awadh Park in the Gomti Nagar area of Lucknow.
“The 10-year lease expired in May but it was extended for another 11 months. The company could not agree to the new rent. The builder asked for much higher than the market rate,” said the source. The company expects to wrap up its business in Lucknow by December this year.
The decision threw the TCS employees into a tizzy, with many wondering if they would be jobless. Some TCS associates said though they had seen it coming, they were earlier this year assured they would not have to shift out.
The employees have petitioned Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister for IT Ravi Shankar Prasad, requesting them to intervene. They have also launched a social media campaign under hashtags such as savetcslucknow and savetcsplease.
“We have asked the PM and the CM to intervene. We don’t know about the company’s strategy, but if the decision is avoidable it should be taken back. We do not agree with this sudden decision. At a time when we talk of Digital India, the company is not thinking about its employees who have given all their years to it,” said a TCS employee.
Though TCS did not specifically explain why it was not able to function out of Lucknow, the company clarified that it was “only consolidating its UP operations in Noida and there will be no job loss as a consequence.”
“There have been false rumours and reports being circulated in the media about the company’s operations in Lucknow. TCS is working to ensure that employees get opportunities in Noida and other centres across India,” the company said in a statement.
TCS CEO Rajesh Gopinathan, while speaking at a quaterly result function in Mumbai, also clarified that “there will be no layoffs.”
“We are committed to grow our business in UP and are consolidating operations in Noida,” 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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