Feature
Infiltration along Indo-Pak has dropped significantly: Rajnath
Lucknow: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday claimed that the country was safe under the Narendra Modi government, adding there was a significant drop in infiltration attempts across the Indo-Pakistan border in the past one year.
Speaking at a conclave here in the state capital, the former BJP president dished out statistics to suggest that in the past 14 months, since the BJP-led NDA government took over, the incidents of infiltration had come down and the number of terrorists killed had gone up.
“In 2013, the number of terrorists killed was 67, while in 2014 the number was 110 and this year the number has already touched 130,” he said, adding that the “state of preparedness of the security forces has been enhanced under the present government”.
He pointed out that in 2012 the number of infiltration attempts on the Indo-Pak border were 264, they went up to 277 in 2013, dropped drastically to 52 in 2014 and this year the count dried up to a mere 15.
“The union government is clear – there would be no compromise on the safety and security of the country, whatever it takes to do that we will do”, he said.
Rajnath recalled his recent stay at a border outpost where he listened to the issues concerning the security personnel.
He also informed that the need of infrastructure on the Sino-Indian border would be taken care of very soon.
Referring to the 15,106-km-long border India shares with its neighbouring countries and the 7,515 km coastline, he said that the Indo-Nepal and Bhutan borders were peaceful while the Myanmar and Bangladesh ones were “active”.
The Indo-China and Indo-Pak borders, on the other hand, were “sensitive”.
“China says there is no clarity on the border… we are trying to tackle the issue at the highest level,” the minister said.
“We want friendly relations with our neighbours and the invite to SAARC nation heads on the prime minister’s swearing in was a sincere effort in that direction,” Rajnath said.
He also said that the country would not compromise on national security.
Referring to “Left-wing extremism”, the minister said that in all 125 districts in the country were affected by Naxalism of which 34 were majorly-affected but the incidents of violence had come down by 35 percent in the last one year.
The minister said that he was also trying to improve infrastructure and telecom in these areas.
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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