Feature
France to assist development of Chandigarh, Puducherry and Nagpur
Chandigarh. French President Francois Hollande on Sunday began the economic leg of his three-day visit to India, offering his country’s assistance in the development of at least three smart cities — Chandigarh, Puducherry and Nagpur.
The announcement came during two back-to-back meetings which the visiting head of state, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, held here with the corporate leaderships of the two countries. The first meeting was with the Indo-French CEOs Forum.
Following the first economic engagement, the two leaders then attended the larger India-France Business Summit hosted by India’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Confederation of Indian Industry.
The businesses of the two sides also signed 16 pacts mainly in urban development and clean energy, but also covering one agreement on aerospace between the French giant Airbus and India’s Mahindras.
Addressing the meeting with the Indo-French CEO’s Forum, Prime Minister Modi said India today presented immense opportunities to the global investing community both as a market and a hub for manufacturing.
“India is the fastest growing economy in the world. We have the labour and the market for your products,” Modi said. “India is also a source of hope and confidence for the entire world community,” he said adding that the investment climate had also improved considerably.
Modi, who recalled having met the French president five times last year, also said that France’s greatest strength has been innovation, which can fit well with India’s talent. “This kind of partnership can achieve a lot.”
Hollande, on his part, said his visit here had two main goals — consolidating the strategic partnership with India in a host of areas, including security, and implementing the climate change goals that were set forth in the global conference in Paris last year.
“Without the intervention of Prime Minister Modi on climate justice, there would have been no agreement,” the French president said referring to what is formally called a meeting of the Conference of Parties under UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
“France will contribute in the development of Indian smart cities of Chandigarh, Nagpur and Puducherry,” the French president said. He had already declared a $2.25-billion line of credit for the “Smart Cities” project of Prime Minister Modi.
Chandigargh already has a French connection, having been planned by noted French architect Le Corbusier. Puducherry has been a former French enclave. And in Nagpur, the French are also interested in the city’s metro and the upcoming strategic industry in its vicinity.
Big French firms like Alstom, Dassault, Egis, Lumiplan, RATP Transdev and Schneider are interested in the Smart Cities Mission. High-profile visits have already been made last year to Puducherry (September 10), Chandigarh (October 12) and Nagpur (December 16-17).
Some 30 business leaders from the two sides attended the half-hour meeting of the Indo-French CEO’s Forum, which was formed in 2009 to identify new avenues to push bilateral economic ties between the two countries.
The agenda for discussions included defence, green economy, smart cities, infrastructure, transportation, water and financial sector. Hollande is in India as this year’s chief guest for its Republic Day on January 26.
According to the available data, French investments in India total around $19 billion, giving jobs to 280,000 jobs, while the stock of Indian investments in France is some $700 million with 7,000 jobs. The bilateral trade is around $8 billion, skewed in India’s favour.
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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