Feature
Kerry to focus on economic issues on India visit
Washington: As Secretary of State John Kerry headed to India ahead of President Barack Obama’s historic visit on India’s Republic Day, officials said economic relationship will be a big focus of his discussions.
Kerry will travel to Ahmedabad after a stop in Munich Jan 10 to attend the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki announced Friday.
He will join leading US business executives and innovators at the Summit to highlight the critical role that US technology plays in supporting sustainable economic growth across India and the Indo-Pacific region, as well as strengthening trade and investment between the two countries, she said.
Noting that this is the first time the United States will join the event as a partner country, Psaki said “We expect that a big focus of the discussion will be about our economic relationship.”
Kerry will have separate meetings with American and Indian CEOs, she said. “And so they’ll be talking about the ongoing opportunities for the US to continue to invest in India and to increase that partnership.”
He’ll also be visiting a Ford plant that will soon be opening, which obviously is a specific example of the investment of the US in India, Psaki said.
Meanwhile, Richard M. Rossow, CSIS Wadhwani Chair in US-India Policy Studies at Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington think tank said the table is set for a real transformation in bilateral relations in 2015.
A great set of high-level meetings following the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) stunning victory in the April-May election, in particular the Strategic Dialogue in July and Modi’s visit to the US in September, has established a new framework for cooperation, he wrote.
In 2015, it will be up to leaders, both public and private, to carry this momentum forward, Rossow wrote saying with back-to-back visits to India by Kerry and Barack Obama in January, the US and India have powerful opportunities to deliver on this promise.
He identified four issues that may bring the US and India together in 2015 as economic reform and renewed economic dynamism under the Modi government; securing an expanded, modern defence framework agreement; fixing the nuclear liability issue and finding tangible ways to demonstrate commitment to new regional cooperation.
However, two issues threatening to drive India-US apart, or trigger a new phase of “drift” were concerns over continued US military assistance for Pakistan and further anti-trade/anti-business measures.
In Rossow’s view two issues that could break in either direction were coordination on Afghanistan and generating US infrastructure investment in India.
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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