Feature
Jaitley signals urgent need for RBI rate cut
New Delhi: Sending a clear signal to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to cut interest rates in view of industrial output slipping further in October, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Monday called for increasing the flow of funds in the market.
“The cost of capital and, I think, in recent months or years, is one singular factor which has contributed to the slowdown of manufacturing growth itself,” Jaitley said here addressing a high-profile workshop on the government’s Make in India programme.
Industrial activity, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), registered a negative 4.2 percent growth during October as compared to a 1.2 percent decline in growth during the corresponding month of the previous year.
Industry’s pitch for rate cuts and economic reforms has become sharper with factory output slipping further, even as retail inflation eased to a historic low of 4.38 percent in November, official data showed earlier this month.
“The credit offtake is slow, infrastructure creation becomes slower, the manufacturers find it difficult to afford costly capital, because it is going to add to each one of their costs. And, therefore, this is one area where each one of us has to be concerned about,” Jaitley said.
The RBI has maintained the benchmark repo rate (the rate at which banks borrow from it) since January this year.
The Make in India campaign was launched by Prime Minister Modi Sep 25, promising the investors, domestic and overseas, an environment conducive to turn the country into a manufacturing hub and, in turn, create job opportunities for at least 100 million youths.
“We can’t have a policy which is occasionally changed and half way through our businesses, we find that there is different policy. Retrospective taxation, because of the absence of stability, became a defining moment against India globally,” the minister said.
Referring to arbitration issues in cases involving multinationals like Vodafone, he said: “We have to ask ourselves why each investor is today insisting on international arbitration where the venue is not India. It is because our domestic systems have a tendency to interfere too much in the domestic or international tribunals created for the purposes of dispute resolution mechanism.”
The 25 sectors identified for advancing the government’s Make in India programme will make presentations at the day-long workshop titled “Sectoral Perspectives and Initiatives” featuring ministers, industries and state chief secretaries.
A total of 18 sessions will be held on the 25 sectors, including chemicals, oil and gas, petrochemicals, capital goods, pharmaceutical, food processing, tourism, aviation, automobile, aerospace, defence production and skill development.
The sector-specific sessions at the workshop will prepare action plans for one and three years.
Representatives of Ford India, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, state-run enterprises, the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry are taking part in the workshop.
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.
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
