Feature
Deadlock over land bill impacting rural development: PM
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said political deadlock over the land acquisition bill was “seriously impacting” rural development.
“The prime minister said the political deadlock over land acquisition is seriously impacting rural development, including the creation of schools, hospitals, roads and irrigation projects,” an official statement said.
Modi was speaking at the second meeting of Niti Aayog on the land acquisition bill here, which was boycotted by chief ministers of nine Congress-ruled states and West Bengal’s Mamta Banerjee and Uttar Pradesh’s Akhilesh Yadav.
Pointing out that the ordinance on land acquisition was brought following demands from the states, Modi appealed to states that political considerations should not come in the way of a solution that would facilitate development of the rural areas and ensure greater prosperity for the Indian farmers.
He reiterated that as far as paying enhanced compensation to farmers was concerned, there were no differences in the stands of the central government and the states.
“The prime minister reiterated the vision of his government that state units should be the focus of all development efforts, as part of ‘Team India’,” the statement said.
He recalled that the chief ministers had always felt that development policies at the centre should be framed in consultation with the states,” the statement added.
Modi said several states raised concerns over the implementation of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, and many states felt that development work was suffering due to the provisions in that act.
“…some chief ministers requested for changes in the act, and sent letters to this effect,” the prime minister said.
Modi said the ordinance, which has been vociferously opposed by the Congress and other opposition parties, was brought in response to these developmental concerns of the states, and also to ensure that farmers continue to receive their legitimate dues.
“The matter is now before the parliamentary standing committee, and therefore, ahead of the upcoming parliament session, it was appropriate that the suggestions of the states be listened to, once again,” said Modi.
Wednesday’s meeting was the second for the Niti Aayog, which replaced the Planning Commission after the NDA government came to power at the Centre in 2014.
Modi said last one year had been a good beginning, with states being taken on board in the planning process, and chief ministers taking the lead in sub-groups of the newly formed commission.
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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