Feature
Naidu hits out at Congress on GST Bill
Kolkata: Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday hit out at the “adamant” attitude of the Congress for stalling the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill in the monsoon session of the parliament.
He also reiterated the government’s commitment to prepone the forthcoming winter session if the opposition agrees to deliberate over the Bill.
“If the opposition is willing, we can prepone the winter session and fastrack the process of getting approvals from the states also. There may be misunderstanding which can be discussed and removed. If they have some points they can discuss it in the house and not scatter it,” Naidu told mediapersons here on the sidelines of a workshop on Smart Cities.
He expressed happiness over the Trinamool Congress’ support to the Bill.
With the Congress going vocal recently criticising the government, the minister said the leading opposition party was making up for its lost ground.
“Earlier, they pulled the country backward and now in the opposition, they don’t want the country to move forward. They cannot refute a lost aground by making political speeches”, Naidu, also the parliamentary affairs minister, said.
According to Naidu, the GST Bill would bring in an integrated taxation structure and reduce the role of middlemen and corruption in the system.
He accused the Congress of recoil in its approach to GST.
“This bill was drafted by the Congress seven years back and lots of discussions on it have already taken place. And after the Lok Sabha passing it with two-third majority, still our Congress friends expressed reservations and asked to be referred to a select committee,” Naidu said.
“To accommodate the opposition point of view, we referred to the select committee which did its work – there is broad consensus – I don’t know why Congress friends are still opposing it,” he added.
He appealed to the Congress to “think in terms for the betterment of the country and the people”.
The GST Bill is now likely to be brought in the Rajya Sabha during the November-December winter session of the parliament. While the Lok Sabha has already passed the bill, it will have to again do so as a parliamentary committee has suggested amendments to it.
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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