Feature
Indian Army chief warns Pakistan says India ready if war is forced
New Delhi: Attacking Pakistan but not by name, Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Tuesday said “our western neighbour” was ceaselessly supporting terrorists and warned that India will achieve “decisive success” if a war is forced on it.
“If our nation is forced into a situation of war, decisive success will be ours,” he said addressing the 71st Army Day parade here.
Warning that security challenges will be more complex in future, the Army chief said: “There is a need to enhance our professional skills to deal with any danger.”
Gen Rawat said that a new policy had been adopted on the border with China and the armies of the two countries told to maintain peace.
Referring to action taken in the wake of unending firing by Pakistani troops, he said: “We have been giving a befitting reply to the enemies on the Line of Control (LoC) that has led to heavy loss of lives and logistics.”
Accusing Pakistan of helping terrorists, Gen Rawat said: “I warn the enemy that we will not hesitate to take heavy action in reply to what they are doing against our country.
“Not only is our neighbouring country supporting terrorism but it is also providing arms and facilitating training to terrorists. That country (Pakistan) has been included in the category of countries sponsoring terrorism.”
He said the Army’s anti-infiltration operations were on and would continue.
On terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, the Army chief said his men had caused heavy losses to the militants with the help of other security agencies.
Asserting that the Army was determined to crush terrorism, Gen Rawat said terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir were in a “hopeless” situation.
Indian Army chief cautions Pakistan of war if continues to support terrorists:
“The result is that the terrorists are now threatening teenagers to take to arms in Jammu and Kashmir. We don’t want that terrorists continuously keep threatening citizens.”
He said the situation in the northeastern states was “under control” and that focused intelligence based operations by Army and Assam Rifles were on.
The Army was also training paramilitary forces and police in Maoist affected areas.
Gen Rawat also talked about “revolution in military affairs” to make the war strategy modern.
To deal with future challenges, he said the 1.9 million strong Indian Army had adopted the techniques of “collective” changes in weaponry and its “reorganisation” was on.
“The aim of our capacity is being increased in a rapid way. Army’s modernization is being done. We have been successful in procuring new weapons and in the technique to work in darkness.”
Gen Rawat said the Army had added projects like K-9 Vajra gun, Prahaar missile system, mine protected vehicles and Aakash missile system.
The Army chief also advised soldiers and their families to use social media very carefully.
The Army Day is celebrated to commemorate the day when Field Marshal M. Cariappa took over as Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from General Sir Francis Butcher on January 15, 1949.
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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