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Sushma Swaraj on 2-day visit to Palestine, Israel from Jan 17
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is all set on a two-day visit to Palestine and Israel from January 17-18 where she will review bilateral relations with both sides.
Swaraj will be accompanied by Secretary (East) and other officials from Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
“This is the first visit of the external affairs minister to West Asia region and Palestine is the first destination in the region which in itself reflects the importance India holds for Palestine in its engagement with the countries of the region,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement.
The visit comes after the state visit of President Pranab Mukherjee to Palestine last October.
During her visit on January 17, Sushma Swaraj will meet with the Palestinian leadership and review India-Palestinian bilateral relations, according to the ministry statement.
“India shares traditionally close relations with the State of Palestine and contributing actively through capacity building and human resource development initiatives with Palestine,” it stated.
“The visit will also reaffirm India’s continued political, diplomatic and developmental support to Palestine.”
Sushma Swaraj will also inaugurate the Palestine Digital Learning and Innovation Centre in Ramallah.
“The visit will further deepen the mutual understanding at the political level and boost bilateral engagement with Palestine,” the statement added.
In a separate statement, the external affairs ministry said Sushma Swaraj and her delegation will pay an official visit to Israel from January 17 to 18.
This is the first visit of Sushma Swaraj as the external affairs minister to Israel and comes after the state visit of President Mukherjee to Israel in October 2015.
Stating that India and Israel shared a close and multifaceted relationship, the statement said during the visit, Sushma Swaraj would hold discussions with the Israeli leadership and “review the entire gamut of India-Israel bilateral relations”.
“The two sides share a firm belief in the values of democracy and free market economy,” it stated.
According to the statement, India and Israel also share close relations in the fields of agriculture, science and technology and education.
During the visit, the external affairs minister will interact with the Indian community in Israel, augment India’s bilateral relations with Israel and further strengthen the linkages between the two sides.
“India’s relations with Israel are part of its engagement with the broader West Asia region and are independent to its relations with any country in the region,” the statement added.
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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