Feature
Modi eyes Lucknow from ‘Vikas Parva’ stage
Lucknow: Proudly calling himself a “UP wala,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi showcased two years of his government’s achievements at the Centre at a massive rally here today which became a launchpad for the BJP’s campaign for the crucial Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections next year.
Modi didn’t refer to the UP elections but kept his focus on the schemes his government has launched and how it had marked a break from the past. He began his speech with this assertion: “Main Uttar Pradesh wala hun. Uttar Pradesh ka sansad hun, aur Uttar Pradesh ke sansad hone ke naate mera swabhavik man karta hai aap sabke aashirwad prapt karne ka.” ( I am a UP wala, an MP from UP and, therefore, it’s natural that I seek your blessings.)
Called Vikas Parv, the rally was attended by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and UP BJP chief Keshav Prasad Prasad Maurya among others.
The message was clear — after the Assam victory, the party has now shifted its focus to UP. So almost every BJP leader in this town in the sugarcane belt urged people to remove the Samajwadi Party government.
So while Singh was emphatic in saying “the 14-year vanwas of BJP has been over in UP,” posters outside read “BJP 265 plus in 2017.” One had a photograph of Modi next to a roaring lion with the slogan: Sun rahe ho tum, aa raha hun main. (Are you listening? I am on my way).
He announced that the retirement age for government doctors would soon be raised to 65. He urged private doctors to treat pregnant poor women free once a month.
Noting that retirement age for doctors varies across states, he announced that “the age would be increased to 65, whether it is state or Centre” via a Cabinet decision. He said the government is also trying to address the problem by ensuring the setting up of new medical colleges.
The electoral significance of holding Vikas Parv in western Uttar Pradesh lies in the fact that it is in the belt facing a sugarcane farmer crisis in Uttar Pradesh. Saharanpur is also the neighbouring district of Muzaffarnagar, the seat of the 2013 riots. As witnessed in the Bilari bypoll in Moradabad last week, the BJP, that always performed poorly in this area, reached close to the victory mark.
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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