Feature
Modi calls for fast-tracking infrastructure projects
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday pushed for fast-tracking all projects that will ensure a modern infrastructure backbone in the country, as part of the targets set for the 75th year of India’s independence in 2022.
“Besides a broad overview of the infrastructure scenario in the country, the meeting focused on the specific sectors of rural infrastructure, power, coal, renewable energy and petroleum and natural gas,” an official statement said after the meeting.
“The prime minister stressed on the need for government departments to work toward initialising spending of the budget in a focused manner from the start of the financial year. He was given a detailed overview of the plans of various ministries for completion of pending projects within the current financial year.”
Against the backdrop of the cabinet recently approving the mission to create 100 smart cities in the country, Mopdi said one of the priorities for urban areas must be in creation of waste-to-wealth and efficient systems for used water disposal and solid waste management in 500 cities.
“The prime minister also asked for specific data to be collected and presented on priority areas such as toilets, affordable housing and smart cities,” the statement said.
Those at the meeting included Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Power Minister Piyush Goyal, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajpati Raju.
In the prime minister’s “Make in India” campaign, a major thrust has been accorded to infrastructure. The value of infrastructure projects ready for procurement this fiscal is estimated at $240 billion, of which half is envisaged through public-private-partnerships.
These cover roads and highways, ports, power, civil aviation, industrial corridors and railways.
Among some specific interventions made by the prime minister, were on according highest priority to the irrigation projects, as also electrification of all the remaining villages at the earliest. Renewable energy and adoption of efficient technologies were also discussed.
Minister Jaitley, while presenting India’s national budget, had said the country had emerged as the largest market for public-private partnerships in the world with more than 900 projects in various stages of development. He said this model had delivered some of iconic infrastructure.
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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