Feature
India don’t have a formal documentation of our war history: Arun Jaitley
New Delhi: Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley today stated that India is not having a formal documentation of war history and must have a formal war history for every child to read.
Attending the launch of the ‘India/Bharat 2015 Reference Annual’, a ministry publication, Jaitley said here that he has suggested to the defence ministry to work on this and “I am told they are moving fast on India’s war history”.
“India is one of few countries which don’t have a formal documentation of our war history,” said Jaitley, who was the defence minister before Manohar Parrikar took over.
“Last year, I was invited to a function of 100th anniversary of World War I. I started looking at details and realised for the first time that the largest participation in the World War was by Indians,” he said.
“…12 lakh Indians fought the battles, over 70 thousand lost their lives. A fact which may not be known to most of the people,” he said.
In view of the shift in technology paradigms, Jaitley emphasised that books and other knowledge products in printed form ought to be made available through digital medium.
“The new digital medium would provide enhanced accessibility and affordability of information to a wider audience,” the minister said in a statement.
Also present, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore tweeted: “For the first time, India reference annual will be launched in e-version for easy accessibility and wider outreach.”
Describing the digital version of ‘The making of the Constitution of India’ documentary as a fine instance of leveraging digital media for archival purposes and preservation of knowledge, Jaitley said such digitisation of books on India’s development could serve as “useful” reference material for the youth and to the audience worldwide.
“As a rich repository of relevant information, ‘India/Bharat 2015 Reference Annual’ would be a good addition to all the libraries,” Jaitley said.
Talking about the annual, he said: “I am sure this book will be a very good addition to all our libraries, and particularly all details of this are available in the digital mode from this year onward. It will be available free of cost to the world at large to enrich itself.”
The publication deals with all aspects of development from rural to urban, industry to infrastructure, science and technology, art and culture, polity, economy, health, defence, education and mass communication, the statement said.
The 59th year of publication of the reference annual has seen an increase in its print order to 1,15,000 copies this year up from 37,000 copies in 2007, it added.
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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