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Ban web-based taxis, home ministry states

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New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh Tuesday said he has asked state governments and union territories to ban all web-based radio taxis after the driver of one such vehicle raped a woman passenger in his cab in Delhi.

Rajnath Singh’s announcement came as Congress leader Anand Sharma said there was a conflict in the government as Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has spoken against the ban on Uber taxi services.

Rajnath Singh said Delhi Police was examining the “legal liability” of Uber in the case.

“The ministry of home affairs has advised the state governments and union territories to ensure that operations of web-based taxi services are stopped and such service providers which are not licensed with the state governments or union territory administration are prohibited to operate till they get themselves registered,” he said in the Rajya Sabha.

Anand Sharma, however, questioned how Gadkari said shutting services was not a solution.

“The government must clarify… your cabinet colleague has criticised the ban on Uber,” he said, indicating towards Gadkari.

Gadkari, talking to reporters in the parliament complex Tuesday, said banning Uber, an international taxi-booking service, did not make sense, and added that modern services like these should be encouraged and if there was some lacuna, it should be rectified.

“It doesn’t make sense to ban services. Tomorrow, if something happens on a bus, we can’t ban that. Similarly, if something of this sort happens on a plane, that too cannot be banned,” Gadkari said.

“Modern concepts like these are being implemented in countries like Britain, the US and others, and we too must encourage it,” the transport minister said on being asked whether these application-based services should be banned in India.

Uber was banned in Delhi after the 25-year-old woman, who hired a taxi through the service, was raped by the driver Friday night.

Rajnath Singh informed the house that the government “strongly condemns the dastardly act. It will be ensured that all necessary steps are taken to bring the offenders to justice”.

Opposition members asked the government what steps were being taken to ensure that all cars with radio taxi services are probed.

Anand Sharma wanted to know whether the government was looking into lapses committed by Delhi Police and the transport department for not doing a background check before issuing license and registeration.

“Someone went to Uber with a transport department certificate and licence, what will they do? What is your mechanism? How are you going to ensure that all radio taxi services, which have thousands of cars, are probed? Create a data bank,” Anand Sharma said.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Satish Chandra Misra questioned the use of police control room (PCR) vehicles when such incidents keep occurring.

“What is the utility of the large fleet of PCR vans when they cannot stop such incidents?” Misra asked.

Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Agarwal said the incident should not be given political colour.

Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’ Brien questioned if any “concrete action” has been taken by the government for safety of women since the Nirbhaya incident.

Janata Dal-United leader K.C. Tyagi went ahead to say he felt “ashamed to be a man” after such incidents.

BJP leader Vijay Goel also said the government “should issue directions that any PCR van, when called, should proceed immediately instead of demanding that 100 number should be dialled first”.

Many other leaders also joined in to express their concern over the situation.

The home minister, however, said many steps have been taken by the government, and the previous government as well, to ensure women’s safety.

“Whenever the issue of safety of women and children has risen, every government has taken all necessary steps. Whether it is our government or the previous government…” Rajnath Singh said.

On steps being taken by the government to ensure safety of women, the home minister said the GPS system has been made mandatory for all taxis.

He said the number of CCTV cameras has been increased and the government has identified 255 isolated locations and increased security there.

“Delhi has the highest conviction rate in the country. The national capital has the maximum number of fast-track courts,” he said.

However, as soon as the minister finished his reply, Samajwadi Party member Jaya Bachchan remarked: “With lot of pain and angst, I want to say that nothing happens regarding women safety issues.”

Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien, however, asked her not to make such remarks and said the entire house was united in condemning the incident.

Entertainment

Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists

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PureWin Online Betting

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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