Feature
Women should be given due representation in legislatures:Pranab Mukherjee
New Delhi: Linking the issue of women’s empowerment with their numbers in parliament and state assemblies, President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said it was impossible in the absence of their appropriate representation in legislative bodies.
“It’s unfortunate (for the country) for not being able to ensure 33 percent representation of women in Parliament,” he said here, while addressing the inaugural function of the two-day national conference of women legislators on ‘Women Legislators: Building Resurgent India’.
He also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was present on the occasion, for giving due importance to the cause of women and girls, saying: “I thank prime minister for ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ (save girl child, educate girl child) programme”.
He said that to ensure overall development of the country and society, the country must recognise and encourage ‘stree shakti’ (women’s power) and this could only be possible by giving them their due representation in parliament and state legislatures.
“How can there a be empowerment of women without proper representation,” he asked.
Speaking on the occasion, Vice President Hamid Ansari and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said women’s representation in parliament and state legislatures has to be corrected as they play a crucial role in society. Congress president Sonia Gandhi was also slated to attend the conference but did not turn up. Party sources said she was unwell.
Observing that the theme of the conference was “appropriate and timely”, Ansari called upon all political parties to help in ensuring women’s representation as it was in the national interest.
“Women must have votes and equal legal status, but the problem does not end there. It only commences at the point where women begin to affect the political deliberations of the nation,” he said, adding that the present situation with regard to their representation is “certainly not very encouraging”.
Sumitra Mahajan hoped when women legislators would sit together, they would come out with new provisions and answers to various problems.
She also emphasised the need for ensuring “women-friendly tools” as a large number of women work in the country’s agriculture sector.
The Lok Sabha speaker also thanked renowned lyricist Prasoon Joshi for writing a good song for the conference. She said women could actually be best compared with the river as he did in the song which has been specially composed for the two-day conference.
“A river gives life to many… similarly women too, are life-givers,” she said.
The Women’s Reservation Bill that sought to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies was introduced in Parliament by the UPA-I government in May 2008.
It was passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2010, but kept pending in the Lok Sabha and lapsed with the 15th Lok Sabha expiring its term.
The prime minister did not speak on the occasion.
Among those who attended the conference were women leaders Uma Bharti, Maneka Gandhi, Sheila Dikshit, and Poonam Mahajan.
The report examining the 1996 women’s reservation Bill recommended that reservation be provided for women of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) once the Constitution was amended to allow for reservation for OBCs. It also recommended that such reservation be extended to the Rajya Sabha and the Legislative Councils. Neither of these recommendations has been incorporated in the Bill.
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.
Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok
Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma
Cheers and Cheers: Barzilla’s Joyful Ode to Inclusivity and Celebration
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists
IPL 20202 UPDATE: KXIP vs MI IPL Dream11 Team Prediction for Today Match, Update Point Table of all Team.
In a Live debate AAP leader Syed Asad Abbas hurls abuses to BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
‘India’s Most Wanted’ trailer out Arjun Kapoor on hunt of Osama-Bin-Laden
Time to move on: Sonakshi on Shatrughan’s joining Congress
