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NDA government committed to OROP, reiterates Parrikar
Lucknow/New Delhi: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday said “good news” on ‘One Rank One Pension’ (OROP) will come soon, and the scheme would be implemented at an appropriate time.
His assurance came as the relay hunger strike by ex-servicemen continued in Delhi as part of their demand for OROP.
The ex-servicemen said they would not seek another meeting with Parrikar after a promised meeting failed to materialise on Wednesday.
“There are some stumbling blocks (in the implementation of OROP) and efforts are being made to remove them,” the defence minister said.
“It’s an inter-departmental issue. As far as the defence ministry is concerned, our work is almost over. This is taking time but I can say that there will be good news soon,” he said.
Parrikar asked journalists not to hazard a guess about the date of implementation of OROP and said everyone would come to know of it in due course.
Wednesday was the 25th day of protest by ex-servicemen over OROP, which started on June 14. Since June 15, the veterans have been holding a relay hunger strike.
The ex-servicemen are demanding that the government give them a date for implementation of OROP. They have also demanded that the nature of the scheme should not be changed.
Asked about the assurance, Col. (retd) Anil Kaul, spokesman of the United Front of Ex-Servicemen (UFESM), said they have been getting assurances since long.
“It is good if it is true. But it is late…” Kaul told IANS.
“We are getting assurances since February. Hope the minister is not wrong again,” he said.
Currently, the pension for retired personnel is based on the Pay Commission recommendations at the time when the personnel retired.
This leads to a difference in pension for officers of same rank who retire on different dates.
Meanwhile, responding to the Pakistani defence minister’s recent comment on the use of nuclear weapons in case of a face-off with India, Parrikar said: “The nation is competent to meet any threat.”
Parrikar, a Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh, was in state capital Lucknow to attend a function of the Cantonment Board.
He said all possible help would be extended to the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation regarding problems related to the route of the ambitious project through the Cantonment area.
“Whatever plans and proposals are sent to the defence ministry will be dealt with a positive and forward-looking approach,” he 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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