Feature
NDA to fight 2019 Lok Sabha polls under Modi’s leadership
New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) today passed a resolution to fight 2019 Lok Sabha elections under leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sources said.
“To continue with the development and poor welfare programs, NDA urges the citizens of the country to be determined to give huge majority to NDA under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019,” the resolution said.
Earlier, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, who attended the meeting at the Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra at Chanakyapuri in New Delhi’s diplomatic enclave said, “The NDA leaders decided to work together to succeed in 2019 Lok Sabha elections under Modi’s leadership.”
“Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan made the proposal for fighting Lok Sabha election under Modi and it was accepted unanimously,” the BJP leader added.
The NDA meeting was attended by 33 parties including Shiv Sena and Akali Dal but there was no discussion on the upcoming presidential or vice presidential elections.
Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thakrey and Akali Dal’s Prakash Singh Badal represented their parties.
Addressing the media, Financial Minister Arun Jaitley said the NDA meeting endorsed the policies of the government specially its “pro-poor policy”.
“Despite the bad shape of economy, the government did a good job and headed towards development. There was not a single corruption charge against the government in its last three years’ reign,” he said.
The minister also said that new allies have joined NDA and this is the symbol of this government’s popularity.
Asked if there was any discussion about the presidential elections, the minister categorically denied it, saying “No”.
Speaking on relationship with Shiv Sena, Jaitley said, “Shiv Sena is the oldest BJP ally. At times some issues come when they don’t agree but Uddhavji today attended the meeting and he was positive.”
The NDA also hailed Modi for BJP’s stunning victory in recent assembly polls.
“The BJP’s victory in recent assembly polls is a mandate on pro poor policies and public welfare schemes of NDA government. The results established Modi as most popular Prime Minister of the country after independence,” the statement said.
TDP Chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said that India needs a stable government for sustainable development.
“India is only economy which can achieve double digit growth. Even China can’t. This is possible only under Modi’s leadership. Sustainability will come with stable government,” he said.
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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