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EU, India agree to strengthen strategic partnership

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modiBrussels:India and the 28-member European Union ended their 13th summit in Brussels Wednesday night by underlining their commitment to strengthen their strategic and economic partnership.

“As global partners and the world’s largest democracies, the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen the EU-India Strategic Partnership based on shared values and principles,” the leaders declared in a joint statement.

The leaders endorsed the “EU-India Agenda for Action-2020” setting out a concrete road-map for the EU-India Strategic Partnership for the next five years.

The Agenda seeks to strengthen foreign policy cooperation, in areas of mutual interest such as Asia, Africa, the Middle East/West Asia, Europe, and other relevant areas including through regular dialogue.

They confirmed their “strong interest in building global peace, security and prosperity, fostering non-proliferation and disarmament, and tackling global challenges such as terrorism and climate change in addition to other challenges such as migration and refugee crisis”.

They expressed their commitment to further strengthen the EU-India economic partnership.

A The leaders welcomed that both sides have re-engaged in discussions with a view to considering how to further the EU-India Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) negotiations.

The EU was represented at the summit Aby Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, and Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission. The Republic of India was represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The leaders welcomed the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) commitment to supporting long-term investment in infrastructure crucial for environmentally sustainable social and economic development in India.

They welcomed a total loan of 450 million euro as a participation in the construction of the first metro line in the city of Lucknow, with the signature by the EIB and the Government of India of a first tranche of 200 million euro.

The leaders welcomed the announcement by the EIB of the upcoming establishment, in New Delhi, of the Bank’s regional representation for South Asia.

Emphasising that the threat of terrorism is global and needs to be tackled globally, the leaders adopted a Joint Declaration on Counter-terrorism.

The EU and India renewed the 2010 ‘Joint Declaration on International Terrorism’ and decided to step up cooperation to counter violent extremism and radicalisation, the flow of foreign terrorist fighters, sources of terrorist financing and arms supply

The EU and India expressed their confidence in the arbitration procedure on the Italian Marines case currently underway in the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to which India and Italy are strongly committed. Both sides will contribute to settling the case on this basis, enabling the cause of justice to be served for all those affected .

The leaders reiterated their commitment for a sustainable, democratic, prosperous and peaceful Afghanistan Aand agreed that a stable and democratic Pakistan is in the interest of the entire region.

The EU and India decided to step up their cooperation to fight climate change and adopted the aJoint Declarationbetween the EU and India on a Clean Energy and Climate Partnership’

The EU and India agreed to address environmental challenges and work together towards sustainable development enhancing cooperation on environment issues.

The Joint Declaration by the European Union and the Republic of India on Indo-European Water Partnership’ adopted at the Summit foresees strengthening technological, scientific and management capabilities in the field of water management and supports the Indian ‘Clean Ganga’ and ‘Clean India’ flagship projects.

The leaders also endorsed the establishment of the Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility (CAMM) between the EU and India, reflecting the importance of India as a strategic partner for the EU in the field of migration and mobility.

The CAMM, as a framework for cooperation, is the start of a longer term process which will lead to deeper cooperation and solid mutual engagement on migration.

Entertainment

Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists

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PureWin Online Betting

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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