Feature
Modi in Varanasi to attend BHU convocation ceremony
Varanasi:Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Monday in his parliamentary constituency, where he visited the Saint Ravidas’ temple and presenting medals to meritorious students at the BHU convocation ceremony and asked youth to take pride in India’s rich heritage and culture.
Amid tight security, he had reached the Hindu holy town late on Sunday and spent the night at the DLW guest house at Dereka. He was earlier scheduled to come to Varanasi on Monday morning.
He left Dereka at around 10.15 a.m. in a chopper and soon after landing at the helipad in the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) campus, drove straight to the Ravidas temple in Seer Govardhanpuri which is also considered birthplace of the 16th-century saint.
The prime minister spent some 30 minutes here and was closeted at the sanctum sanctorum where he sat on the ground and paid obeisance to the saint who is venerated in large parts of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Owing to tight security, a saint of the sect was prevented from entering the temple while Modi was there, leading to loud protests from his followers.
Flanked by BHU Chancellor Karan Singh and union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani, Modi attended the convocation ceremony at BHU where he gave away medals to 32 meritorious students.
Urging the youth to take pride in the rich heritage and culture of India as they move out of colleges and begin their journey in various careers, he narrated how yoga had existed through ages but when Indians took pride in it, the United Nations accepted a proposal for the International Yoga Day which was celebrated in 192 countries of the world.
He also urged students not to treat ‘dikshant’ (convocation) ceremonies as ‘shikshant’ (end of education) and said that in fact it was the beginning of a real life.
Modi urged the students who were passing out, that apart than spreading the good word about BHU, through noble deeds, the students should also try and give their best to the country and inspire others.
“You should have the motivation and the ability to realize your dreams, that’s the real test and a game changer,” he told the gathering of students amid applause.
Adding that inquisitiveness always added to development, the prime minister also urged the students to ensure that their willingness to learn more and more should never be allowed to die. “One should have the ability to rough it out, on the basis of knowledge, even in face of adversities and be assured every such person will make it big,” he said.
Modi also disclosed that he had politely declined to accept a honorary doctorate offered by the BHU as he did not consider himself worthy of it.
“Being in BHU itself is a big achievement,” he said, adding that the love and faith bestowed on him by Varanasi had indebted him for his lifetime.
In Monday’s convocation, a total of 11,620 degrees were distributed.
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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