Feature
Modi government took India from gloom to hope: Rajnath
New Delhi: Terming the Narendra Modi government’s one year in office as the “year of consolidation”, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said it has changed the general feeling from that of “despair to hope”.
“The country was in despair and gloom during the past ten years of UPA rule but it has been changed to hope within one year of NDA, governance,” the minister said.
Addressing a press conference here on the completion of one year of the Modi government in office – ‘Saal Ek, Shuruat Anek’, he said poor governance has been taken over by development and things are improving fast.
“During the UPA rule, poor governance and corruption were in the front seat and good governance and development were in exile,” the minister said.
“We have taken good governance and development back home ‘inki Ghar Vapsi karai hai humne’ (We have brought them back home),” he said.
Touching upon various aspects and the work areas of the government, the minister said “Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelling abroad and meeting various world leaders has made a lot of positive change for India”.
“There was this non-alignment passive diplomacy during UPA’s rule but now it’s pro-active diplomacy by our government,” he said.
“Be it socio-economic, diplomatic and other areas, things have improved a lot,” Singh said, adding that all economic indicators during the Congress rule were down but now they were looking up.
Elaborating on how India’s economy was speeding up, the minister said it has been made investor friendly and lots of investors are coming to India to invest in various business ventures, whereas the country was being looted during the UPA’s rule.
“Our economy would start moving faster than China’s soon as our government addresses all issues with total transparency, “he said.
Criticising former prime minister Manmohan Singh, the home minister said that he was an economist but could not curb rise in prices of general commodities.
People suffered during the UPA government. It failed to contain the ever rising prices of essential commodities but within one year of the NDA government the growth rate has gone up and inflation is down, Singh said while discussing the general achievements of his government.
“Manmohan Singh was ‘arthshastri’ (economist) but our Modi is ‘yathartshastri’ (practical),” he said, adding how the government scheme of ‘Jan-dhan Yojna’, through which Modi got the country’s poor connected to the banking system, was being appreciated across the world.
Talking about India’s nuclear agreement with France during Modi’s recent visit to the country, the home minister said it would help India in a big way.
Singh also said that during the past one year, the government has cleared 40 defence related proposals.
“It’s has been done with full transparency,” he added.
The home minister said that internal security was sound and the threat from terrorism and naxalism was being dealt with firmly.
On centre-state relations, the minister said the central government was not in conflict with any of the state governments.
Speaking on the tussle with the Delhi government over the ministry of home affairs’ recent notification, Singh said: “We don’t have problem with any government”.
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.
Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok
Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma
Cheers and Cheers: Barzilla’s Joyful Ode to Inclusivity and Celebration
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists
IPL 20202 UPDATE: KXIP vs MI IPL Dream11 Team Prediction for Today Match, Update Point Table of all Team.
In a Live debate AAP leader Syed Asad Abbas hurls abuses to BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
‘India’s Most Wanted’ trailer out Arjun Kapoor on hunt of Osama-Bin-Laden
Time to move on: Sonakshi on Shatrughan’s joining Congress
