Feature
NDA graft-free government, boosting cooperative federalism: Jaitley
New Delhi: With one year of transparent, graft-free and decisive governance under the NDA, global business confidence in India is on the upswing and the economy poised to go on to a higher growth path, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday.
“The very important highlights of the government have been giving a corruption-free administration to the country and strengthening cooperative federalism,” he said at a press conference here ahead of the first anniversary next week of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
“Ministerial discretions have ended, decisions are no more on a personal but on a principled basis, transparently through a market mechanism. Coal, mining, spectrum auctions held, where all controversies were ended,” Jaitley said.
“A year back, government decision-making was so controversial and discretionary that even investors were being prosecuted.”
Referring to the ordinances brought by the Modi government, the minister said there had been criticism by those “uneasy with the pace of governance”.
“There is speed with decisiveness. There is absolute clarity about the direction. The direction is towards growth and development,” Jaitley said.
The finance minister said the Modi government was keen on the passage of the land bill in the monsoon session. The bill is being examined by a joint committee of the two houses.
Asked about the Congress’s opposition to the land bill and some other legislations, he said no party has the right to say that it would not allow the passage of a bill.
Numbers on the floor of the House would decide if a bill was passed or not, Jaitley remarked.
Making it clear that the government did not believe in retrospective taxation, and had also taken action in the matter, the finance minister said past cases will be decided by the judicial process, even as it will await suggestions from an expert panel.
“I have already said old cases need to be resolved. The revenue department didn’t do anything.”
“Only the higher judicial authority can rectify the matter (of old cases),” Jaitley said.
Jaitley in his Budget 2015-16 announced exempting FIIs from paying minimum alternate tax (MAT) on the capital gains earned by them, but soon after the income tax department sent notices to at least 90 foreign portfolio investors (FPIs)
With the uncertainty created by MAT, foreign investors sold around $630 million in Indian shares and bonds on May 6, marking the biggest single-day sales since January 2014.
The government on Wednesday constituted a three-member A.P. Shah Committee that will look into MAT demands on foreign companies.
The finance minister also said his government’s divestment strategy will be balanced.
“Already the target of disinvestment this year is very high. It stands at around Rs.69,000 crore of disinvestment and strategic asset sale. This is even more than the complete disinvestment made by NDA-1,” he said.
“Our decision will be balanced and the process will be to divest or make a strategic sale as the case demands,” he added.
Replying to a question on the retail sector, he said the decision taken by the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to allow 51 percent foreign equity in the country’s multi-brand retail trade industry continues even as his party’s views were well-known.
“The views of my party on the policy and the views of my government on the same have been known to everyone for a long time. However, the official position right now is: The earlier policy, which was legislated and implemented by the previous government, still stands,” Jaitley said.
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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