Feature
Government playing with sentiments of ex-servicemen: Congress
New Delhi:A day after ex-servicemen said they would continue their protest over issues related to the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme, the Congress on Monday accused the central government of “playing with the sentiments of armed forces pensioners”.
The party demanded that the government should clarify whether the OROP had been extended to those who sought premature retirement without medical reasons or due to incapacity to serve.
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi told media persons here that important issues vis-a-vis the OROP were deliberately kept ambiguous.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi should stop playing with the sentiments of our veterans, leave the policy of unilateral decision-making and engage with them to find a permanent solution to the issues affecting OROP,” he said.
The government was speaking in different voices on the OROP, the Congress leader said.
He said the then United Progressive Alliance government had agreed for continuous automatic revision of pension but now the ex-servicemen were offered such revision after five years as against their demand for revision after every two years.
“Their demand for review of pension on yearly or even biennial basis remains,” the Congress leader said.
He said the judicial committee appointed by the central government on the issue should have representation of ex-servicemen.
Singhvi said the ex-servicemen had also demanded that pension should not be calculated on average pension formula but as per the highest salary drawn.
Modi said at a rally in Faridabad on Sunday that soldiers who retired prematurely would benefit from the implementation of the OROP scheme.
The prime minister said those trying to mislead on the issue of voluntary retirement scheme were committing a wrong.
Modi said around 80 percent of the OROP benefits would be available to soldiers of junior ranks.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday announced the implementation of OROP but said that “personnel who voluntarily retire will not be covered under the OROP scheme”. He later clarified that the clause on voluntary retirement would be removed.
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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