Feature
JKP Education adds yet another feather to its cap
Lucknow: Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat Education, a charitable trust dedicated to education of the girl child has achieved yet another milestone by grabbing the prestigious I next achievers award of the prestigious Jagran Group. The award consisting of a trophy and citation was presented to Dr. Vishakha Tripathi, President of Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat Education by Manoj Pandey, Minister of Science & Technology, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh. The award was received by Ram Puri, representative of JKP Education on behalf of Dr. Vishakha Tripathi. Several other organizations and individuals were also recognized for their efforts in various fields.
Speaking on the occasion, Cabinet Minister Manoj Pandey said that JKP Education is doing great service by reaching out to the poor and needy in the backward areas of the state. “ Educating the girl child is one of the priority areas of the government. Organisations like JKP are working selflessly to promote and provide girl education in the areas where people do not understand importance of education. The work being carried out by JKP is an example that others should follow” said the Minister.
Expressing happiness on recognition of efforts of JKP, Dr. Vishakha tripathi said that educated women are key to the progress of entire society. “ A woman plays various roles in life and if she is educated she can contribute both to the family and the society in a much more meaningful way. Education is the best tool that can make women empowered in the true sense” she said in a statement.
Representative of JKP, Chartered Accountant Ram Puri elaborated the activities of JKP Education. He said that efforts are regularly being made to reach out to more and more needy families and provide the girls with best technology and amenities so that nothing can create hurdles in their higher education. “ We ensure that the girls educated at educational institutions run by us can effectively compete with those studying in big cities and metros. It’s a constant endeavor and that has been yielding fruitful results”, he added.
Bestowed with Rajeev Gandhi Global Excellence Award, Mother Teresa Award and Nelson Mandela Award and many other awards for exemplary work in the field of girl education, Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat imparts free education to more than five thousand girls from preprimary to post graduate level through institutions located in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh. Under the guidance of Ms Vishakha Tripathi, JKP Education has been achieving one success after the other.
Entertainment
Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists
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.