Feature
India can prosper only if farmers do: Rajnath Singh
New Delhi: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh here on Tuesday said “India can prosper only if the farmers do”.
“If we want to make India prosper, the farmers need to prosper. India cannot prosper until the farmers do. We have to improve the conditions of the farmers, they should get the right price for their produce,” said Singh while speaking during the function to mark the 80th birth anniversary of late farmer leader Mahendra Singh Tikait.
Minister of state for Agriculture, Food Processing and Industries Sanjeev Balyan was also present on the occasion.
“I had a close relation with Chaudhury saab,” Singh said.
Recalling his relationship with Tikait, the home minister mentioned about an anecdote when Tikait opted to visit Singh’s official residence in Lucknow when he was the Uttar Pradesh chief minister…Though Tikait was accompanying about 1,000 farmers to raise their concerns, Singh said, he opted to go out of his house to welcome him personally instead of letting the security personnel stop him.
Reassuring the farmers not to feel weakened, Singh said: “… I am also a farmer’s son. I can feel their problems. Several times due to drought and floods, the crops get damaged. I can understand what kind of difficulties they have to face.
“… we cannot strengthen the farmers only through agriculture… it is necessary that in every farmer’s family at least one member should develop expertise in other skills. Only then we can strengthen the farmers of our country.
“It could also be agriculture-related skills. Only then their condition will improve,” he added.
“Chaudhury Mahendra Singh ji’s name should be counted among the other farmers leaders in the country like Chaudhury Charan Singh, Chaudhury Devi Lal and Chaudhury Chhotu Ramji,” he said.
“We have stalled the Land Acquisition bill for now keeping in mind the interest of the farmers. The process of discussion on the matter must go on with the farmers. If we proceed with the bill, it will be done only after taking the farmers into confidence.”
On the issue of Rs.6,000 crore interest-free loan to sugar mills so that they can clear cane arrears to the cane farmers, he said: “I have been told that this has not been implemented properly. We’ll do something to resolve the problem.”
Tikait’s sons Naresh Tikait and Rakesh Tikait were also present at the function.
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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