Feature
Modi wants BJP’s presence in every district
Bengaluru: The BJP should have offices in every district across India to expand its presence and convey the government’s achievements to the people, according to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The prime minister “has advised us to strengthen the party by opening its offices in every district for conveying to the people our government’s programmes and achievements,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters.
In his valedictory address to over 300 members of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s national executive here on Saturday, Modi advised them to make best use of the government’s various welfare schemes like Antyodaya Anna Yojana, which provides subsidised food to the people below poverty line.
“The party’s leaders and cadres should also make best use of Pandit Deendayal Upadhaya’s year-long centenary from September 25 to reach out to the people, especially the poor and the downtrodden,” Modi told the delegates, including central ministers, chief ministers and senior party leaders such as L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi.
The prime minister also exhorted the party’s rank and file to popularise the government’s Swachch Bharat programme as it was closely linked with the health of the people, especially the poor and weaker sections whose welfare is closely linked to hygiene and cleanliness.
“The Swachch Bharat campaign will ensure better healthcare of the poor as it will reduce their expenses on treatment and medicines. It will also keep them healthy. The party should take its message up to the village level for benefitting even the rural people,” Jaitley said, giving excerpts of Modi’s address.
Modi also wanted party leaders and cadres to convey to the people how a false campaign was carried ahead of the NDA government’s formation in May 2014.
“A false campaign was carried before our government was formed that price for natural gas would be increased from $8.4 per million Btu (British thermal unit). Instead of raising the price, we reduced it to less than $5,” Jaitely said quoting Modi.
Accusing the Congress of benefitting only the rich by doing them favours in gas price and in allocating spectrum or coal blocks, Modi said that by holding transparent e-auctions, the NDA government had made the wealthy (beneficiaries) pay for it.
“And the money from the auctions will go for the development of tribal areas. Similarly, we substituted wealth tax with special surcharge to tax the super rich and create additional resources for the states,” Modi said on the concluding day of the two-day meeting here.
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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