Feature
Air Force station Chandigarh ready to welcome Chinook CH-47 helicopters
Chandigarh: With its heavy-lift capacity severely depleted, the Indian Air Force (IAF) station here is preparing itself to become the base for the first of the 10-tonne capacity Chinook CH-47 helicopters from the United States.
The double-rotor Chinook helicopters, four of which have already arrived at the Mundra port in Gujarat in a semi-knocked down condition, are likely to be ferried to Chandigarh. The helicopters will reach the Chandigarh Air Force station by the first week of March, officials here said.
“After being re-assembled here, especially with the twin rotor blades, the Chinooks will be formally inducted into the helicopter squadron by the end of March,” an IAF officer told media persons.
The ‘Featherweights’ (No. 126 Helicopter Flight), which has been flying the massive Soviet-era Mi-26 helicopters for the past many years, will be flying the Chinooks from the Chandigarh base.
Work is already at an advanced stage as the Air Force base prepares to receive the first four Chinooks. This includes providing infrastructure like refurbished hangars and maintenance facilities for the Chinooks.
Air Force station Chandigarh prepares to receive Chinook heavy-lift choppers:
Chandigarh is a military airport which also handles commercial flights. “Seven Chinook helicopters will be based in Chandigarh,” the officer said.
India had in September 2015 finalised its order with aircraft manufacturer Boeing for 22 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and 15 CH-47F Chinooks. Both are the newest models of these helicopters.
The induction ceremony of the Chinooks is likely to be attended by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa, senior IAF officers, senior officials of Boeing and US diplomats.
IAF helicopter pilots were sent to Delaware in the US in October last year for being trained to fly the Chinooks.
“This acquisition enhances the Indian Air Force’s capabilities and offers us an opportunity to further accelerate the Make in India initiative. Large sections of the Chinook fuselage are already manufactured in India and discussions are ongoing with our Indian partners to make Apache parts,” the Boeing website states.
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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