Feature
Modi’s visit to Pakistan Not yet decided
New Delhi:Prime Minister Narendra Modi is looking forward to visit Pakistan in November to attend the Saarc Summit, according to India’s High Commissioner in Islamabad. But New Delhi said on Tuesday that no decision had been made yet.
“Decisions and announcements of such nature are not made so far in advance,” India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.
Swarup’s remarks came a day after the High Commissioner, Gautam Bambawale, told an event in Karachi on Monday that the visit was possible despite tense India-Pakistan ties.
“I can’t say about the future but as of today Prime Minister Modi is looking forward to visiting Islamabad for the Saarc summit in November,” the Dawn quoted Bambawale as saying at an interactive session of the Karachi Council on Foreign Relations.
He also said while India and Pakistan must certainly discuss the entire range of issues, they must keep their focus on economy which he described as a “low-hanging fruit”.
His comments came amid reports that Modi might keep away from the Saarc Summit in view of the rising tensions between India and Pakistan, particularly over Jammu and Kashmir.
Bambawale said it was India’s desire to see a Pakistan which was moderate, prosperous and stable and at peace with itself, its neighbours as well as the rest of the world.
He admitted that trust and confidence was lacking in relations between New Delhi and Islamabad.
The road to normalization of Pakistan-India relations, he said, lay through greater trade and business, the roadmap for which was prepared by the two governments in 2012.
The total trade between the two countries was worth just $2.5 billion a year while its potential was of $20 billion, the Dawn quoted him as saying.
The Indian envoy said even when tensions were high between the two countries, there had been contacts at the operational level.
Over the past month and a half, there had been “cordial interactions” between Pakistani and Indian border forces.
Bambawale referred to Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s and Modi’s visits to Islamabad and Lahore respectively in December last year.
But on January 2 this year, terrorists – who India says came from Pakistan – attacked the Pathankot Indian Air Force base.
He said the Indian government had been saying: “Let’s work together to get to the bottom of terrorism which was a headache not only for Pakistan but for India and the world.”
In an obvious reference to the Kashmir dispute, Bambawale said the two countries should not be talking on just one issue, rather on all issues.
He said India had taken a stand in the 1960s and 70s that New Delhi and Beijing must talk on the boundary problem before moving on to other issues. But this was reversed in 1988.
Today China was one of India’s largest trading partners, he pointed out.
Asked about “Indian atrocities” in Jammu and Kashmir, the High Commissioner said Indians were as concerned about the people of Kashmir as anyone else in the world.
But issue of Jammu and Kashmir was domestic and “you should focus on your problems”, he replied.
Bambawale said the problem with China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was that it went through Pakistani Kashmir whose ownership is disputed by Islamabad and New Delhi.
He also mentioned how Pakistan had refused consular access to alleged RAW agent Kulbhushan Jadhav, arrested in Pakistan, while India gave consular access to a Pakistani terrorist, Bahadur Ali.
“We have offered Pakistani authorities full consular access to him,” he said in reply to a question about Indian involvement in Balochistan.
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.
Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok
Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma
Cheers and Cheers: Barzilla’s Joyful Ode to Inclusivity and Celebration
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists
IPL 20202 UPDATE: KXIP vs MI IPL Dream11 Team Prediction for Today Match, Update Point Table of all Team.
In a Live debate AAP leader Syed Asad Abbas hurls abuses to BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
‘India’s Most Wanted’ trailer out Arjun Kapoor on hunt of Osama-Bin-Laden
Time to move on: Sonakshi on Shatrughan’s joining Congress
