Feature
MoUs worth Rs.242,160 crore inked at investors meet: Jayalalithaa
Chennai: A record investment commitment of Rs.242,160 crore in Tamil Nadu was made by investors at the first Global Investors Meet 2015, said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa here on Thursday.
Delivering the valedictory address at the two-day event, Jayalalithaa said that in a resounding endorsement of Tamil Nadu and her government, 98 agreements were signed involving a total investment of Rs.242,160 crore – which is more than the cumulative investment agreements signed by the state government between 1991-2011.
The investments proposed is more than the double of the target set for the event.
Jayalalithaa said out of the total investments proposed in the state, Rs.104,286 crore will be in the manufacturing sector. Rs.107,136 crore in energy, Rs.10,950 crore in information technology (IT), Rs.1,955 crore in handloom and textiles, Rs.800 crore in agriculture and Rs.500 crore in fisheries sector.
According to her, agreements have been signed for setting up of 5,345 MW solar power projects involving an outlay of Rs.35,356 crore.
She said nearly 50 percent of the manufacturing sector projects for which agreements have been signed would come up in the southern districts of the state.
Jayalalithaa said the proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Tuticorin along with the one being set up at Ennore near here would secure the energy security of the state.
She assured the investors that necessary approvals would be given within 30 days of applying for them with all relevant documents under the single window clearance system, while her government would soon web enable all the clearance procedures.
The aim is to make Tamil Nadu as the top three investment destinations in Asia, she said.
Jayalalithaa also said her government would soon come out with farsighted policies on IT, IT Enabled Services (ITES), electronic hardware manufacturing, aerospace and defence production.
Bringing down the curtains on the two day mega event, she said the state would hold global investors meet every two years and the next edition will be held in 2017, she declared.
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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