Feature
NMC to facilitate people for carrying forward Swachh Bharat Abhiyan on May 30th
Lucknow: To mark the National Journalism Day on May 30th, the National Media Club (NMC) will organise an event at Sugar Cane Institutions in Uttar Pradesh state capital and under this function all the people will be facilitated who were dedicated to carry on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan forward in their districts.
In an exclusive interview with Aaj Ki Khabar, the President of the National Media club, Sachin Awasthi said that our organization has taken on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan campaign that was kicked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and in this regards he has also received an written letter from the PMO in which his efforts has been appreciated.
Sachin said that we have associated near about 21 thousand children with us in Govardhan Parikrama near Mathura who have helped them to keep their villages cleaned and in this regards Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti gave children’s oath to keep their village and hygienic.
He said that this message gave such massive result among the children’s that after the kids reached their homes they told their parents that we have taken oath today to keep our surrounding clean and maintain hygiene, so first of all we should just start from our homes.
Sachin further said, we believe that if our neighborhood will clean our minds and thoughts will be both clear and we will be able to deliver the message that is so important to clean our life.
Giving details of the National Cleanliness Mission programs, Sachin said that we have organised a painting competition on sanitation among the school children’s in the state and have given reward to 20 best paintings in this regards.
He said that we have launched a calendar which was released by the Governor of the State honorable Ram Naik on ‘Hindu New Year 2074’ and three paintings of children have been given place in this calendar along with the message of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Talking about the program on National Journalism Day that will be celebrated on May 30th, he said that since the program is based on Journalism Day they will also organise a seminar along with regional journalists.
Also journalists for more than 60 years working for regional media, we should take all the journalists came out of experiences of respected journalists’ seminar.
Sachin said National Media Club which is the regional organization of journalists has decided to give away ‘Media Ratan’ award for the first time beginning from this year.
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.