Feature
NEET only option for admission to medical courses across India, rules SC
New Delhi:In a set-back to some states and private medical colleges who were trying to wriggle out of NEET, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to modify its April 28 order making NEET mandatory for admission to undergraduate medical courses across the country for the academic year 2016-2017.
Holding that “Prima facie, we do not find any infirmity in the NEET regulation on the ground that it affects the rights of the states or the private institutions”, a bench of Justice Anil R. Dave, Justice Shiva Kirti Singh and Justice Adarsh Kumsr Goel said that they found “no merit” in the applications seeking modification of it April 28 order making NEET only route for admission to medical colleges.
Addressing the submission in respect of reservation of any category or that of rights of minority institutions, the bench, in its order, said: “Special provisions for reservation of any category are not subject matter of the NEET nor rights of minority are in any manner affected by NEET.”
“NEET only provides for conducting entrance test for eligibility for admission to the MBBS/BDS course.”
However, the bench made one exception permitting the students who had appeared in NEET-I to take another chance in NEET-II but this would be subject to their foregoing the result of the NEET-I.
“We direct that all such eligible candidates who could not appear in NEET-I and those who had appeared but have apprehension that they had not prepared well, be permitted to appear in NEET-II, subject to seeking an option from the said candidates to give up their candidature for NEET-I,” the bench said in its order.
Modifying its April 28 order, the bench permitted the CBSE to reschedule July 24 NEET-II saying: “It would be open to the respondents (CBSE and MCI) to reschedule the date of holding NEET-II, if necessary.”
Declining the plea by some states to allow them to hold common entrance tests under their respective laws and that of the private medical colleges, the bench said: “We may also add here that to ensure total credibility of the examination to be held by the CBSE, the oversight committee appointed by this court vide the aforesaid judgment dated May 2 shall also oversee the NEET-II examination to be conducted by the CBSE.”
The apex court by its May 2 judgment had appointed a three member committee comprising former chief justice of India R.M. Lodha, former comptroller and auditor general Vinod Rai and Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences director Shiv Sarin, to oversee the functioning of the Medical Council of India including its statutory functions and vetting of all its policy decisions as it took a dim view of its working.
The MCI of India and the Dental Council of India had in December, 2010, amended the then statutory regulations to provide for a single National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for admission to the MBBS/BDS course.
However, the notification was struck down on July 18, 2013 by a majority judgment, in which the apex court, in a split verdict of 2:1, had held that NEET was flawed both procedurally and substantially.
While then then Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice Vikramajit Sen (since both retired) had junked the NEET, Justice Dave disagreed with the majority view.
However, the NEET was restored on April 11, 2016 when the five judge constitution bench of Justice Dave, Justice A.K. Sikri, Justice R.K. Agrawal, Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice R. Banumathi recalled July 18, 2013 order.
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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