Feature
Seven Indians feature in BBC 100 Women 2015 list
New Delhi: It’s all about Indian girl power all the way! Making a mark on the global map, seven Indian celebrated personalities including singer Asha Bhosle, tennis star Sania Mirza and veteran actress Kamini Kaushal have made it to BBC’s list of 100 most aspirational women.
The list was announced on Wednesday, read a statement.
Each year, BBC names 100 women – a mix of influential women who are world leaders in politics, science and entertainment, as well as less popular but inspirational women from all over the world.
Other names to crop up in the list are Rimppi Kumari (farmer), Smriti Nagpal (entrepreneur), Mumtaz Shaikh (campaigner) and Kanika Tekriwal (entrepreneur).
The names of the celebrities have taken their stories of success to the world with their dedication and hardwork.
Legendary singer Asha, who started working in Bollywood in 1943, has recorded songs to be mimed in 1,000 films by hundreds of actresses.
And Kamini, better known as the Vivienne Leigh of her generation in Bollywood, has acted in more than 100 films. She was the leading actress in “Neecha Nagar” which won best film in Cannes in 1946 – the first Indian film to do so.
Rimppi is a farmer who, along with her sister Karamjit, took over a 32-acre farm in Rajasthan after their father died.
Sania’s story is not hidden to anyone. She is one of India’s most successful tennis players and in 2015 was both the Wimbledon and US Open women’s doubles champion.
Smriti was inspired by her work as a sign language interpreter in India, which has the largest deaf population in the world, to set up Atulyakala.
Mumtaz’s fight to get free facilities for women through the Right to Pee network earned her the honour. She ensured 96 toilets were free for women to use in Mumbai and made the government set aside 50 million rupees ($770) to build female-only urinals around the city.
After being diagnosed with cancer in her early 20s, Kanika was determined to make her mark. She established India’s first and only marketplace for private jet and helicopter charters.
Complementing the 100 Women list, the BBC will offer audiences a raft of special content across all of its platforms. As part of the season, Sania will be interviewed by BBC World News presenter Yogita Limaye.
The list ‘100 women’ is a part of ‘100 Women season’ on BBC World News starting from Wednesday.
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.