Feature
UP to become trillion-dollar economy with launch of ‘ODOP’ summit
Lucknow: President Ramnath Kovind on Friday inaugurated the “One District One Product (ODOP)” summit in the state capital and expressed hope that the changing environment in Uttar Pradesh would make the state a trillion-dollar economy sooner than later.
Speaking at the inauguration session, the President said he can feel the excitement among the summit participants, which was reflective of how the mood and atmosphere in the state had changed in the recent past.
After inaugurating the summit the president also inspected the ODOP exhibition of all the 75 districts and by pressing a button gave loan worth Rs 1,006 crore to small-time businessmen.
Lauding the holding of such a summit by the state government, the President also remembered Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stalwart and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Kovind further said that Uttar Pradesh was a state with a lot of talent and added that the need of the hour was to harness it. He also congratulated Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for coming up with the idea of ODOP.
ODOP summit in state capital expressed hope UP’s environment changing:
In his address, the Chief Minister said soon after the BJP took over the reins of the government in the state, the atmosphere had changed and now investors were making a beeline to invest here.
Through ODOP, he said, every year 5 lakh persons would be given employment in the state every year.
“We are promoting talent, business and for start-ups have earmarked a fund of Rs 250 crore in our budget,” Adityanath stated.
“What we inherited from the preceding government in known to everybody and we have tried out best to turn it around,” the Chief Minister said while also claiming a definite change in the law and order situation of the state.
There would be eight sessions in the summit covering sectors, like credit and finance, craft and tourism, agro and foods, and handloom and textiles and would discuss in detail the ways to improve marketing processes and ensure quality through use of technology, an official told media persons.
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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