Feature
BJP govt delivered the actual work: Amit Shah
ew Delhi: BJP president Amit Shah today stated that since Narendra Modi became prime minister, prices of essential things in the market have gone down, while on the other hand Aam Aadmi Party has just managed to set records of telling lies to the public.
Addressing a Bharatiya Janata Party rally at Delhi’s historic Ramlila Maidan in the run-up to the assembly elections, Shah said: “The Aam Aadmi Party has set a record of lying and no one can defeat them in that aspect.”
He said that when the AAP formed the government in Delhi, its leaders took the Metro for Ramlila Maidan to take oath. “Do they still travel by Metro?” Shah asked.
Shah said every party promised to regularise Delhi’s unauthorised colonies, but the actual work was done by the Modi government by making a law.
The union cabinet recently approved an ordinance to regularise the unauthorised colonies. A total of 895 unauthorised colonies, which came up in Delhi till June 1, 2014, would be regularised.
“All parties had made promises over unauthorised colonies in Delhi, it was the BJP government which delivered the actual work,” Shah said.
Shah said prices had skyrocketed during the 10-year rule of the Congress-led regime.
He said prices of petrol, which increased unabated during the UPA rule, have been reduced a number of times during the seven months of the Modi government.
He said the BJP stands by the promises it made to the people during the Lok Sabha elections and will implement them.
“We are working on the promises made to the people. Some of them have been implemented. In some cases, they are in the process of being carried out, and for others, a roadmap has been drawn for their implementation,” he added.
Shah said the prime minister promised to “end unemployment” through its flagship scheme ‘Make in India’, and for it the government was emphasising on skill development and setting up a separate skill development ministry.
“We will emphasise on skill development, and we have set up a separate ministry for the same after coming to power,” he said.
He promised to bring back the black money stashed abroad, and said the government has cleared a proposal to set up a Special Investigation Team for same.
“Bringing back black money is a complex issue, international treaties are coming in the way,” he told the people.
Shah also said the government has given a befitting reply to Pakistan over its ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir.
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.