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Rail Budget 2016 Live: WiFi access at 400 stations by 2017, 24X7 helpline for women and much more
New Delhi: Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu today presented his second Rail Budget 2016 at the budget session of parliament.
With the beginning of the speech over Rail Budget 2016, Prabhu said that it is people’s budget and added that budget was made with consultations.
Prabhu said that the budget will document transformation journey and added that it will innovate, optimize the way forward.
Prabhu said that government is focusing on zero based budgeting approach and expect the saving of Rs. 8720 crore this year.
The budget will focus on enhancing public private partnership (PPP) and expect the financial year 2017 Opearating Ratio at 92%. Traffic Revenue Target at Rs. 1.85 lakh crore, Prabhu said.
Prabhu also said that Bankable Rail Projects are now assured of funding and expect the revenue growth of over 10% this year. Punctuality has been increased to 95%.
Prabhu also said that 1,600 km of rail electrification has been proposed for this year while 2000 km electrification has been proposed for the next year. He assured of delivering 2,800 km of tracks by next year.
So, What’s New In Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu’s Rail Budget 2016
He said that Rs. 1.21 lakh cr investment has been proposed for this year and Railways adopts Make in India.
Increased connectivity with the North-East and added that Electrification budget increased by 50%, Prabhu said.
Internal audit to revamp Railway functioning and added that dustbins will be provided to all non ac coaches soon.
Railways target of commissioning 2,500 kms broad gauge and added that Mizoram, Manipur to be on board gauge map, Prabhu said.
Prabhu assures of free WiFi access at 100 stations this year and 400 stations by next year. He added that 65,000 additional berths created by augmenting 884 coaches.
WheelChairs seats can be booked online and introduced first bio-vaccum toilet in Dibrugarh Rajdhani. He also said that 17,000 bio toilets in 475 stations this fiscal year.
44 new projects valued Rs. 92,714 crores to be implemented this year and looking forward to increase average speed of trains, says Prabhu.
Railway Minister Prabhu introduces Hamsafar Express and planned to implement superfast trains for unreserved.
Prabhu also said that LIC has delivered an approval to invest Rs. 1.5 lakh crore over 5 years on extremely favourable terms.
He said that Baby Milk, Baby food and Hot water will be provided to the passengers and added that entertainment screens will be inside the coaches soon.
Two locomotive factories to be implement soon and added that GPs based Digital Displays to be implemented inside coaches.
He also said that a full-fledged Railway university will be constructed soon. Enhanced capacity of e-ticketing system from 2000 tickets/min to 7,200/min.
Two elevated corridors have been announced for Mumbai and 20,000 Info screens across 2000 stations this year.
He said that CCTV cameras at all Tatkaal windows soon and added that 24*7 helpline for women’s safety.
CCTV network has been provided at 311 railway stations and added an inclusion f e-ticketing facility for debit and credit card holders.
Half of lower berths reserved for senior citizens and Overnight ‘Uday’ double-decker trains to be implemented soon, says Prabhu.
E-catering from 40 stations now to 408 soon and said that Ticket cancellation via phone calls to be implemented soon.
Prabhu said that First phase of new Kolkata Metro to be completed by 2018 and implement ‘clean My Coach’ service across India.
Railways to generate 9 crore mandays of employment in 2017-18 and 14 crore mandays in 2018-19.
Prabhu assures of increasing lower berth quota for senior citizens by 50 percent.
Dedicated freight corridors envisaged for North-South, East-West and East Coast alignments. Social media being increasingly used to ensure transparency.
Dedicated freight corridors envisaged for North-South, East-West and East Coast alignments, says Prabhu.
New R&D organisation to be established soon, says Prabhu.
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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