Top News
Demonetisation put RBI reputation at risk: Chidambaram
Kolkata: Echoing former RBI Governor Y.V. Reddy, former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said on Saturday that demonetisation move put the central bank’s reputation at great risk and dubbed the whole process a “command performance”.He also dubbed the demonetisation as a “terrible decision that was terribly implemented”.Asked whether the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) autonomy was over or not, the former Union Minister said: “On this issue, the answer is yes.””Reversing the sequence stipulated in the Act… instead of the Reserve Bank recommending withdrawal of legal tender status for the (high-denomination) currency, the government recommended to the bank that the legal tender status should be taken away.”
Recalling the build-up to the November 8 demonetisation announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the senior Congress leader said: “That was on November 7 when the RBI Board (meeting) was called. Was there a written notice? They will not tell us.””How many people attended? They will not tell us. Was there an agenda paper for the meeting? Were there minutes of the meeting? They will not tell us. How long the meeting lasted? They will not tell us,” he said.
“I have information that the meeting lasted 30 minutes and the recommendations were made to the government. The Cabinet was waiting for the recommendations,” he claimed.”How could the Cabinet know that the RBI will recommend the withdrawal of legal tender status? It was a command performance,” he said.Echoing Reddy, Chidambaram said: “And to that extent, in this instance, the Reserve Bank’s reputation has been put at a great risk, the point which (ex) Governor Reddy made.”The senior Congress leader said he would have resigned if demonetisation was implemented during his term as Finance Minister.
“In the last 50 years, no major economy has demonetised its currency. India has been added to the list that includes Zimbabwe, North Korea and Libya,” Chidambaram said, adding that demonetisation was a “terrible decision that was terribly implemented”.Taking a swipe at Modi, he said: “My real grievance on demonetisation is that the decision of this magnitude with enormous consequences cannot be taken, or is not to be taken, by one person.”
Chidambaram said three important official of the Finance Ministry — the Finance Secretary, Banking Secretary and the Chief Economic Adviser — should be involved in the (any proposed) demonetisation and they should be in the forefront in telling about and defending the scrapping of currency.He said none of them had spoken a work in the last 70 days.
“What it means is that the three most important officials of the Finance Ministry concerned were not consulted; if they were consulted, they disagreed,” he added.Chidambaram said former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan opposed demonetisation and formally put his view on the issue in a five-page note to the Prime Minister’s Office. “In retrospect, I suspect one of the reasons why his term was not extended was that the government was in a hurry to demonetise,” he said.”That is why 64 days after the new Governor (Urjit Patel) assumed office, we have demonetisation,” he added.
International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.
Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.
The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.
Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile
The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.
The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.
“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.
Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings
Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).
Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.
The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.
Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.
Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities
The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.
On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.
Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.
“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.
The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.
Content provided by Adverloom
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
Lockdowns in China Force Urban Communities to Defy Censorship and Vent Frustration Online
What monkey fled with a bag containing evidence in it: Read full story
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
