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PM Narendra Modi writes history by laying foundation stone of temple
Dubai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday witnessed via video-conferencing the foundation stone laying ceremony of a temple in the UAE while attending a community event here.
According to Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, Modi witnessed laying of the foundation stone for the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) temple on the Abu Dhabi-Dubai highway.
“The first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi being built on a generous gift of land by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi reflects UAE’s commitment to tolerance and harmony,” Kumar tweeted as Modi, along with a large number of people from the Indian community watched the event from the Dubai Opera House.
The first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi will come up on 55,000 square metres of land, according to India’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Navdeep Suri.
The temple’s construction will be completed by 2020, and open to people of all religious backgrounds.
It will be the first traditional Hindu stone temple in the Middle East, said a spokesperson from the BAPS that is entrusted with the design, construction and management of the temple.
The temple will be hand-carved by Indian temple artisans and assembled in the UAE, said the BAPS spokesperson.
The UAE has two Hindu temples which are located in Dubai. Devotees from Abu Dhabi and other emirates have to drive to Dubai for prayers and offerings.
PM Narendra Modi creates history after laying foundation stone of temple:
The temple compound will include a visitors’ centre, prayer halls, exhibition centre, learning areas, sports area for children and youths, thematic gardens, water features, a food court, a books and gift shop and other facilities.
The UAE is home to around 3.3 million expatriate Indians.
Earlier in the day, Modi paid tributes at the UAE war memorial Wahat Al Karama near Abu Dhabi.
After visiting Palestine earlier on Saturday, Modi arrived in Abu Dhabi later in the evening on the second leg of his three-nation tour of West Asia and the Gulf.
Following delegation-level talks between Modi and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, India and the UAE signed five agreements on Saturday, including a historic one on energy cooperation that awarded a consortium of Indian oil companies led by ONGC Videsh a 10 per cent interest in Abu Dhabi’s offshore Lower Zakum concession.
This is Modi’s second visit to the UAE after his visit in 2015.
Later on Sunday, the Prime Minister will deliver the keynote address of the Sixth World Government Summit, in which India is the guest of honour country this year.
After completing his engagements in Dubai, Modi will leave for Oman on the third and final leg of his tour.
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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