Feature
BJP will repeat its 2014 Lok Sabha electoral success: Arun Jaitley
Varanasi: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) will repeat its 2014 Lok Sabha electoral success and form a majority government in Uttar Pradesh.
Jaitley, while addressing a ‘Varanasi Vyapari Sammelan’ (traders meet) in Parliamentary constituency of Prime minster Narendra Modi, hailed the Central government’s demonetisation policy and said the move had won the confidence of many people.
The Finance Minister said that “The decision of demonetisation scheme was in the best interest of the countrymen and those living in rural areas have voted in favour of BJP after currency ban step which is the for the central government.
He added our party boldly took the stand on demonetisation, which will make a positive impact on the economy of the country.”
Jaitely further said that “The world has accepted that India’s economy is the fastest growing economy.”
The senior BJP leader said while commenting on the crucial Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, “BJP is going to form the next government in Uttar Pradesh with full majority like it did at the Centre after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.”
He also targeted at the opposition parties for aiming BJP for not having a face of the chief ministerial for the UP state assembly elections.
He added that the electorate had chosen Narendra Modi, long before he was declared the Prime Minister nominee of BJP during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
He said history will be repeated in UP after the assembly polls and reminded that “After 1984, it was for the first time that a political party got a clear majority in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.”
Jaitley also targeted at Congress party and said the party was reduced to winning only 44 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls as it “only worked for its personal benefit, not for the nation.”
He also slammed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for “distributing tickets to criminal candidates, paving way for ‘Goondaraj’ (hooliganism) and doing caste-based politics.”
He added, “Akhilesh boasts of one expressway in the state, while Union Minister Nitin Gadkari is constructing 255 highways at half the rate of the tender given by the UP government for its expressway.”
Entertainment
Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists
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.