Feature
IAF says it’s holding back more evidence of shooting down F-16 aircraft
New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) said on Monday it has more credible information and evidence to prove that Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had lost an F-16 in air battle over Line of Control (LoC) on February 27 apart from electronic intercepts, radio transcripts and sightings from ground posts but was withholding them due to confidentialty and security concerns.
Holding a second briefing in two days, IAF’s assistant chief of staff Operstions (space) R.G.K. Kapoor said that multiple evidences show that two aircraft went down on February 27 a day after IAF carried out air strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) camp in Pakistan’s Balakot.
Air vice marshal Kapoor said that radar images showed that an F-16 crashed and fell across the LoC in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir after being shot by Mig 21 Bison flown by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthman who also took a hit and got captured after the dogfight.
He said that two Army posts in the Jhangar sector under Nowshera brigade saw two separate parachutes, the first on the western side in general area Sabz Kot and the second on the southwest in general area Tandar. The two locations are around 8-10 km apart.
The parachute that fell in Sabz Kot was of the PAF pilot while Abhinandan fell in Tandar.
IAF claims it has more credible evidence to prove it shot down PAF F-16 aircraft:
These facts are corroborated by Pakistan army’s propaganda wing director general Inter Service Public Relation (DGISPR) who first acknowledged that two pilots were captured but later retracted that only one Indian pilot was in custody.
The radar images and intercepts also corroborated the facts, said IAF emphasising that it had more proof, but it not being shared due to security concerns.
The IAF had briefed the media on Friday giving details of the air engagement after a report appeared in Foreign Policy claiming none of the PAF F-16 was found missing following a count by the US official.
The report itself has been contradicted as the US defence department said it was not aware about any count of the PAF F-16 fleet.
The IAF had kept silent over the entire issue, but has opened up now with two media briefings emphasising that it had shot down a PAF F-16.
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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