Feature
Debate on opening up insurance sector may end soon: Jaitley
New Delhi: Hinting that the chances of the Insurance Bill getting approved during parliament’s ongoing winter session are high, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said Saturday the debate on opening up the sector will end soon.
“The debate with regard to insurance is almost now coming to an end. Hopefully within a few weeks, it should produce some results,” Jaitley said while addressing the India Economic Conclave 2014 here.
Insurance sector employees in Chennai recently threatened a strike in case the government passed the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill 2008 in the winter session.
The Bill seeks to raise the foreign direct investment limit in the sector to 49 percent.
“We (Bharatiya Janata Party-led government) started off by opening out the sectors, which needed to be opened out. The response as far as the defence opening up is concerned has been extremely positive.
“There is a flurry of activity going on in that session. Important decisions like inviting private sector and foreign investment into the railways, which can be an effective instrument of change in India has by and large received large support,” Jaitley added.
He also said the government’s decision with regard to liberalising norms in real estate would help benefit tier II and tier III cities.
“It’s easing the process of environmental clearances, which is holding up a large number of projects. One of the areas we need to work more effectively on is monitoring not merely the approvals, but actually on the ground the projects moving forward,” Jaitley said.
About the government’s approach to taxation, the minister said “Our approach to taxation is extremely critical. If I have to simplify the decisions of the earlier government, these were the most expensive taxes which won’t yield us any revenues.”
“So the government paid a big price and the investment environment paid a big price. Each of those areas we are very closely monitoring the situation and therefore, moving very carefully,” Jaitley added.
Jaitley said that the government will come out with more steps to rationalise subsidies. He recalled the decision to link diesel prices with the market and said the government has recently decided to give direct cash subsidy on pilot basis to LPG customers in select cities.
Jaitley informed the gathering that the centre had set up a commission under former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan to suggest ways to rationalise subsidies.
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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