Feature
Priyanka Chopra bats for fair start for children
New Delhi: Actress Priyanka Chopra as a Unicef goodwill ambassador on Tuesday raised the pitch for a fair start for every child in the country — from privileged ones to the less privileged.
She launched a ‘Fair Start’ campaign, which aims to take the right to grow and prosper to one and all in the country. To this end, Unicef India unveiled a ‘Fair Start’ film that promotes a social media campaign focussing on persisting inequalities that large groups of children in India face, affecting their survival, growth and development.
Dressed in a white shirt and long yellow skirt exuding easy breezy vibe, the actress, who was appointed a Unicef national ambassador in 2010, shared that the campaign in an attempt to start discussion for a better tomorrow.
“I am on more planes than I am on land, but I would’nt have chosen to be anywhere else except here,” Priyanka said, hinting at her busy schedule which includes juggling between her life abroad and in India.
The event was not only high on Priyanka’s star power, but also stayed true to the essence of the campaign. There were children from various schools present, and students and media from Haryana also became part of the event through video conferencing.
Using nursery rhymes from “Ringa ringa roses”, “Jack and Jill”, “Twinkle, twinkle little star” to “Johny Johny, yes papa”, the film weaved a story of how the disparity and huge gap between the rich and the poor in the country is eating away the youth.
It highlighted the gap, but also showed the similarities that ties the children together.
A 14-year-old girl, who shared the dais with Priyanka and Unicef representative in India Louis Georges Arsenault, shared her point of view, saying that “we need to connect to less privileged. When we connect to the less privileged, then I think we start caring of what they are going through. When we start to care, then we start to empower them.”
The actress, who has garnered fame at the home turf and internationally, was floored by the confidence of the girl.
“You remind me of me. I remember when I was 17 standing on the stage on Miss India and being asked big questions. It takes extra amount of bravery to share platform, to be able to bring your thoughts together. I am inspired by you. Thank you for doing it that hasn’t happened for a very long time,” Priyanka said.
Priyanka, who has extended her support to several social causes, believes in the initiative, but says it will take some time for the change to seep in.
“We can’t bring a change. We cannot eradicate poverty, we can’t bridge the gap of the wealthy and the less privileged. Let’s not live in a delusional world. But we can work towards an opportunity, help someone.”
“I believe in equality of gender, career, equality in opinion and equality all around. We can talk about it. People will write and that will make people think about it. It will start a discussion… boond boond se saagar banata hai (drops of water make an ocean).”
As part of the campaign, a series of impactful films will give an insight into the lives of millions of children from various backgrounds, who are full of potential but less likely to grow up healthy and safe, less likely to attend school, less likely to learn and more likely to be married as children.
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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