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Modi Inaugrates IOCL Refinery In Orissa

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nammoiParadip(Odissa):Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday dedicated to the nation a 15-million tonnes a year refinery of the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) here, and expressed regrets over delay in execution of different projects.

“Projects are marred by delays due to legal and tender processes and local agitations, resulting in cost overruns to the country. Initiatives have to be futuristic and completed before the designated time limit so that the country does not sustain cost overruns due to delays,” the prime minister said.

He said a new work culture is being developed to materialise the projects within fixed time frame that would benefit the country.

Modi also took a dig at the Congress after inaugurating the Rs.34,555-crore refinery project of 15 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) capacity, saying: “Nowadays, whenever I go to inaugurate any project, the friends in Congress party say it was started during our time.”

Describing Paradip refinery as Odisha’s ‘Vikas Deep’, Modi said it will fulfil the aspirations of the state’s bright youngsters. He said it will also take gas cylinders to the homes of the poor across the country.

Modi said the Paradip refinery has set a record of sorts when it came to ‘Make in India’ initiative — the refinery will become a source of jobs for lakhs of poor since several downstream industries will come up after its commissioning.

The prime minister said the central government had distributed about Rs.1 lakh crore in recent months under the Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) scheme to make the youth self-employed.

“MUDRA Yojana has given an opportunity to India’s youth to stand on their own feet and become job-creators, not job-seekers. We don’t want the youth to be job-seekers; they should be job-creators,” said the prime minister.

He said effort was on to decrease oil imports and make India self-reliant in petroleum sector.

“I have asked the petroleum ministry to decrease oil imports by 10 percent by 2022, when India will celebrate 75 years of Independence. The ministry will try hard to be self-reliant in oil,” Modi said.

He said the government was also emphasising on solar energy so that it does not depend on other countries for its energy needs. The Indian Oil Corp’s refinery was a step towards that goal, he added.

Modi also congratulated the scientists for developing indigenous technology for the refinery project.

“Paradip refinery is made in India, for India and by Indians, using indigenous technology and this has amazed the world,” the prime minister said.

The refinery at Paradip would produce 78 crore kg liquefied petroleum gas, 500 crore kg petrol, 680 crore kg disel and 120 lakh quintal petroleum coke.

The project will primarily produce BS-IV fuels and serve the eastern and south-eastern markets, apart from exports.

The refinery is the largest on the country’s eastern coast, and is equipped with the latest technology, including IOCL’s own patented IndMax technology for better and higher output of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Speaking on the occasion, Odisha Chief Minister urged Modi to ask the Indian Oil Corp. to fulfil its commitment in creating jobs for the region’s people.

He also urged the prime minister to grant special category status to Odisha for its further development.

Entertainment

Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists

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PureWin Online Betting

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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