Feature
Parliament amends law to pave way for next CBI chief’s appointment
New Delhi: Parliament Thursday approved amendments to the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act to provide for appointment of a CBI director in a situation where there is no leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, paving way for naming a new agency chief before incumbent Ranjit Sinha retires Dec 2.
The Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2014 was passed by the Rajya Sabha Thursday after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley assured the house that the government intends to work through consensus on the appointment of chief of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and wants to strengthen the systems.
The bill, passed by Lok Sabha Wednesday, provides for including the leader of the single largest opposition party as a member of the selection committee to choose the CBI chief, instead of the leader of opposition as in the act earlier.
The step had to be taken as there is no leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, with largest opposition party Congress falling below required numbers to claim the post.
The bill also does away with the need of all members to be present to chose a CBI chief.
Mallikarjun Kharge is currently the leader of Congress in Lok Sabha and is likely to get the post in the panel.
“The idea is that when there is no recognised leader of opposition, we must have a representative of opposition party in the collegium,” said Jaitley, who tabled the bill in Rajya Sabha.
Participating in the debate on the bill, Congress leader Anand Sharma said it should not appear as if the government is doing a favour to the opposition.
“We know that the government has come with this amendment, but this impression should not be created that the government is obliging the opposition,” he said.
In response, Jaitley said: “The very object that we have voluntarily brought this bill is not that we are showing courtesy to any party… We are just strengthening the act.”
It was a part of the reforms for CBI, he said.
“This is a part of CBI reforms… Some other reforms in the functioning of CBI are in the Lokpal act itself, which we have almost unanimously approved… CBI should be fair,” Jaitley said.
On the need to do away with the quorum issue in the meetings of the collegium, the minister said meetings were being hindered due to this clause.
“For years together the meeting would be postponed… If the LoP (leader of opposition) says I will not attend the meet, any decision will become invalid,” Jaitley said, adding that it may be possible that the prime minister or chief justice of India are not able to attend the meet.
In his reply to the debate on the bill, Jailtey said that the government will accord due respect to the leader of the largest party in the Lok Sabha.
He said there was a practice of sharing names on the panel a day before the meeting of the committee and it would be followed.
“We will like to have consensus…We want the system to be strengthened,” Jaitley said.
“The motivation (for the bill) is that CBI must be a fair agency and there should be participation of opposition,” he said.
The act provides for a three member committee, comprising the prime minister (chairperson), the chief justice of India or a Supreme Court judge nominated by him, and the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, to make recommendations to the central government for appointment of the director.
The enactment of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act (also known as Lokpal Act) earlier this year has automatically amended the DSPE Act to make changes in the selection panel.
Before the Lokpal Act amended the DSPE Act, a committee headed by Central Vigilance Commissioner used to recommend names for CBI director.
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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