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‘Unhappy’ at move to Textiles,Smriti fails to hand charge to Javadekar

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javedkarNew Delhi:Smriti Irani may have scoffed at speculation over her ouster with a “Kuch toh log kahengey”, but the former HRD Minister was missing from a ceremony on Thursday to formally hand over charge of the ministry — despite two phone calls to her by her successor Prakash Javadekar.

Irani, who was shunted to the low-profile Ministry of Textiles in Tuesday’s cabinet reshuffle, seems to be “unhappy” over being displaced from the HRD Ministry, said sources.

On Thursday, Irani failed to attend the charge-taking ceremony of the newly-appointed HRD Minister Javadekar at Shastri Bhavan despite being present in Delhi and being formally invited.

Traditionally the outgoing minister hands over charge to the new minister at a formal ceremony.

On Wednesday, but for Javadekar, all the other newly-appointed ministers as well as those who were shifted from their ministries went to their new offices in the presence of the outgoing minister.

Following the tradition, Javadekar himself handed over the charge of Environment Ministry to newcomer Anil Madhav Dave on Wednesday, while Irani took charge of her new Textiles Ministry.

But Javadekar’s assumption of charge of the HRD Ministry was set for Thursday.

Javadekar was hopeful that Irani will turn up on Thursday to hand over the charge, but she didn’t.

Javadekar waited till the last for Irani to show up before taking the charge.

“Javadekar ji called Irani twice in the morning. But she finally didn’t turn up,” a source told IANS.

Irani’s absence was apparent of her unhappiness at being shunted out, but Javadekar downplayed the issue, saying “She was supposed to come today, but she was stuck in some personal work.”

“I had a word with her in the morning on phone,” the Minister said.

After the reshuffle, Javadekar had gone to meet Irani at her residence on Wednesday morning.

Sources said that Javadekar had tried to soothe Irani’s dejection but his efforts were in vain.

Javadekar, who was supposed to take charge on Wednesday deferred it till Thursday and even held a meeting with HRD officials in the ministry on Wednesday itself.

On Wednesday, Irani, after taking charge of the Textiles Ministry had denied rumours that her move to the new office was a demotion.

She thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for placing her in charge of a sector that has immense potential to generate employment.

On persistent questioning about her being moved out of the HRD Ministry, Irani said, “There have been so many questions and so many things being said. I would only say that ‘Kuchh to log kahenge, logon ka kaam hai kehna’ (People will talk, it is their business).”

Javadekar was the only Minister of State to be elevated to cabinet rank in Tuesday’s reshuffle.

Sources close to Irani told IANS that she had had an inkling she might be shifted out from the HRD ministry.

When she met an Education Minister of one of the BJP ruled states few days ago, Irani indicated that she might not be in the HRD Ministry when he visits her next.

Sources told IANS that Irani was shifted to Textiles because of the many controversies during her tenure as HRD Minister and the way she dealt with them.

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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