Feature
India has to compete with China in steel output, says Modi
Bhubaneswar: Stating that India has overtaken the US in steel production, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the country has to compete with China, which is far ahead.
“India has surpassed America in steel production. But, we are still behind China and when I talk about Make in India, we would not accept to stay behind anyone. We have to increase our production,” said Modi after inaugurating the modernized and expanded steel unit of Rourkela Steel Plant at Rourkela in Odisha.
The Rs.12,000-crore project has more than doubled the plant’s capacity to 4.5 million tonnes per annum from 2 mtpa. The prime minister said India can grow with its youth power, which accounts for about 65 percent of the total population.
He said if the youth get employment and proper skill development, the country would prosper and move fast in the coming 10 years. He said mineral resources should be properly utilized for development of the people and industries.
Modi said trading of mineral resources to other countries may help the economy, but it would not build the future of India.
Stating that minerals should have value addition and generate employment, he said the whole world is now interested in investing in the country, which was not the case in the last decade.
“We want to invite the world to invest in India and I can assure that they would get highest return compared to other parts of the world,” said Modi.
Emphasizing the need for balanced development of all states, the prime minister said his focus is on the development of the country’s eastern parts, which are lagging behind the western region.
“The eastern region should be developed. When the western part of India is developing, we have to concentrate on the eastern region,” Modi said.
He said the central government has hiked royalty on minerals benefiting Odisha after coming to power, and increased allocation to Rs.25,000 crore in the 14th Finance Commission, which had reached to Rs.18,000 crore in last 60 years.
“Odisha must be developed if country has to progress,” said the prime minister.
He said the coal bearing states, including Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Bihar, would be benefited following the auction of the minerals.
He said through a transparent auction of just 20 out of 204 coal mines cancelled by the Supreme Court, the country has earned over Rs.2 lakh crore.
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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