Himachal Pradesh to reintroduce lotteries after two decade to boost revenue amid rising debt
The decision comes amid declining central allocations and the discontinuation of GST compensation, which have further strained the state's finances. The government hopes that restarting lottery operations will help bridge the fiscal gap without putting an additional burden on taxpayers.
In 1999, the then Himachal Pradesh CM Prem Kumar Dhumal had banned the sale of all types of lotteries in the state, under Sections 7, 8 and 9 of the Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998 and made its violation punishable under Lotteries (Regulation) Act.
In a bid to shore up revenue amid mounting debt, the Himachal Pradesh cabinet has approved the revival of state-run lotteries, a practice banned over two decades ago. The decision follows a recommendation by the Resource Mobilisation Committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri.
The finance department made a detailed presentation before the cabinet, highlighting the potential of lotteries as a significant revenue source. Citing examples from other states, officials noted that Kerala earns over Rs 13,582 crore annually through lotteries, Punjab around Rs 235 crore, and the hill state of Sikkim nearly Rs 30 crore.
Industry Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan said many states—including Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, Punjab, West Bengal, and several northeastern states—currently operate lotteries successfully. 'There is no nationwide ban on lotteries. If regulated properly, Himachal too stands to benefit,' he said.
Sources said the state government is likely to introduce specific legislation in the upcoming monsoon session of the assembly, starting August 18, to operationalise the scheme.
However, the move has drawn sharp criticism from the opposition. Former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur called the decision regressive and harmful. 'By legalising lotteries, the government is trying to bring back a dark era when many families were ruined—people committed suicides, and their homes were auctioned. The BJP strongly condemns this policy,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
22 minutes ago
- India.com
‘Tariff King'? The U.S. Got It Wrong – India's Trade Duties Tell A Different Story
New Delhi: U.S. President Donald Trump recently branded India as the 'tariff hing', accusing it of abusing trade duties to shield its markets. But actual trade data paints a vastly different picture. According to the World Bank, India's simple average tariff sits at 15.98%, but its trade‑weighted average, reflecting what most imported goods actually face, is only 4.6%. The lower rate reflects the reality that most high tariffs apply to low‑volume sectors such as agriculture or automobiles, while major imports like pharmaceuticals, energy, machinery and chemicals face much lighter duties (typically 5‑8%). India's imports from the United States in FY 2023‑24 totaled over $42.2 billion, with roughly 75% concentrated in just 100 product lines. Those goods generally attracted low or minimal tariffs. For instance, crude oil and LNG carry a duty of Rs 1.10/tonne and 2.75%, accounting for 18.25% of U.S. imports to India. Industrial machinery draws a 7.5% tariff; coal faces 5%; medical equipment carries 5‑7.5%; aircraft and parts are charged only 2.5%; and fertilizers go up to 10%. Thank you to schemes like Special Economic Zones, Export‑Oriented Units and Free Trade Agreements, a fair share of imports enters duty‑free. India has also been gradually reducing tariffs over three decades, from 80.9% in 1990 down to 15.98% in 2023, with the weighted average at just 4.6%. In January of this year alone, India slashed duties on several U.S. exports such as motorcycles, bourbon whiskey, ethernet switches, synthetic flavourings, fish hydrolysate and abolished a 6% equalisation levy on online services. It also removed retaliatory tariffs on apples, almonds and walnuts. Global comparisons reinforce India's position as moderate, not excessive. The Word Trade Organisation (WTO) data shows India imposes 0% on most semiconductors and IT hardware, compared with Vietnam's 50%, China's 25% and Indonesia's 30%. On agricultural tariffs, India averages 33% (with a max of 110‑150%) versus the European Union (EU)'s cap of 261%, Japan's 298% and South Korea's over 800% on certain items. Neighboring economies fare similarly: Bangladesh at 14.1%, Turkiye at 16.2%, Argentina at 13.4%. India's trade‑weighted rate remains lower than Vietnam's 5.1% and Indonesia's 5.7% and is nearly equal to the EU's 5%. India's non‑tariff barriers remain modest and predictable. Its Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for food products meet or exceed Codex norms in 24 out of 32 cases, compared to Japan and EU standards. Rules around biotech and veterinary certifications follow science‑based global norms. Contrast that with China's more opaque system of over 2,600 non‑tariff measures, many of which pose challenges for exporters. Meanwhile, the United States maintains steep tariffs on products like sour cream (average 197%, max 297%), tobacco (average 184%, up to 350%) and peanuts (average 115%, up to 164%). Even cheese tariffs hover near 24% and automobiles average 19%. India's approach, particularly in agriculture, reflects common international practices aimed at protecting farmers and ensuring food security. Judged by global norms, its tariff strategy aligns more with calculated trade policy than protectionism. The label of 'tariff king' obscures more than it reveals. India appears far from an outlier. It has phased in trade liberalisation consistently. It negotiates tariff relief for key partners. It removes barriers when possible. Its tariff profile compares favorably even with developed participants in global commerce. India is not a tariff miser. India is a measured trader.
Hindustan Times
22 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Keeladi and the contesting of Indian history
We are living in great times with the greatest of crafty wielders with purvey on politics and power of judging truths. We are passing through one of the most interesting moments of time in terms of redefining the history and civilisation with the dominant narrative of culture, society, science and industrial activities in the Indian subcontinent. The penultimate journey of time and destiny of truth, buried under, could not have surfaced despite the heat and dust of politics and chosen the contestants to this cultural and historical narrative, in the form of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu, the imagined or constructed political-ideological inheritors of the cultural-historical legacy of Vedic period and the Dravidian hypothesis of the history of Indian subcontinent. Keeladi — should it receive its due — could shake the foundations of the north-centric narrative and understanding of the south simply as inheritors of history, culture, science, technology and civilisation from the north. The findings at the 100-acre site located in Keeladi, a village 12 km distance from Madurai in Tamil Nadu are not only exceptional but also compelling in terms of evidence that can offer rare insights about the flourishing urban civilisation from the south (PTI) The findings at the 100-acre site located in Keeladi, a village 12 km distance from Madurai in Tamil Nadu are not only exceptional but also compelling in terms of evidence that can offer rare insights about the flourishing urban civilisation from the south. The discovery of iron slag in Keeladi indicating the practice of iron smelting, further reaffirms the advanced technological capabilities of the civilisation. Sivagalai, dating 3345 BC, not only establishes the iron age of South India before the Vedic period but also challenges the Western understanding of Anatolia by the Hittites as the world's first iron age. All these developments are unsettling, not surprisingly for the BJP at the Union government in New Delhi and its ideological patron, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Nagpur. The result is the growing shadow over the integrity and functioning of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the signs of wilting of the ace national archaeological body under the heat of power to dampen down the historical, cultural and civilisational past about India – a rare southern narrative. Why? What is the bone of contention? The politics of Keeladi excavation(s) lies in the time bracket of 8th century BCE to 3rd century CE given by Amarnath Ramakrishna, the superintending archaeologist then in-charge of the Keeladi excavations until 2017. He submitted his report in 2023 and two years later, in early 2025, the ASI has asked him to revise the report focused on review of dates and with scientific AMS details. The Keeladi project survived inordinate and deliberate delays due to financial and administrative orders governing the Keeladi site and the potential impact of contamination of the samples during the phase I & II. Then comes the stunning setback to the Keeladi project with the declaration of ASI that there are no significant findings and the decision to halt further excavations, echoed by the next superintending archaeologist who replaced Amarnath Ramakrishna. It is the intervention of the Madras high court, which had asked the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archeology (TNSDA) to take over the Keeladi excavations, that not only rescued the Keeladi operations but also enabled the sustenance of further excavations on going at the Keeladi site up to phase X until 2024 and corroborate with the developments in Sivagalai (since 2019) and Adichanallur (2004) to suggest that the south had entered the Iron Age over 2000 years before north India. Above all, reaffirming that there are many truths about what we consider as Indian civilisation by revealing Indus Valley Civilisation and Vaigai River Civilisation are not only too close to be isolated by time and space and could even be contemporary to each other. Tamili (Tamil-Brahmi) inscribed potsherds, traces of trade links with the north (including foreign territories like Afghanistan and Rome) and signs of advanced urban life were found. One of the most significant developments following the Keeladi excavations is the pushing back of the Sangam era. Keeladi was a literate and urban civilisation with established industrial, trade and commercial activities revealing the characteristics of a highly organised society. In the process tumbling the centuries old prejudicial construction and popular imagination of south simply as an inheritor and the north as source of everything from culture, science, technology, urbanisation and the quintessence of the Indian knowledge systems. It is one thing to shower accolades or punish Amarnath Ramakrishna in the ways of subsequent transfers and postings everywhere except Keeladi. He has refused to change the dateline and prepared to defend his report whenever the situation demands with an appropriate scope and opportunities even within the department. It is another thing to acknowledge that Keeladi excavations have moved on to a stage that neither the ASI nor the Union government can halt the excavations and withhold the findings from the public due to the mission of the Tamil Nadu government and the stake holding people of Tamil Nadu. This is the game changer because of the scientific orientation of the TNSDA combined with the political determination of the Stalin-led DMK government in Tamil Nadu. It is highly relevant to note here that three laboratories, using – Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) – dated the iron implements from Sivagalai between 2427 BC and 3345 BC. Six carbon samples from Keeladi tested using AMS technique at Beta Lab, Florida, USA were dated between 580 BC and 300 BC. The Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow and Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad were engaged in using the OSL method. The scientific analysis and the credibility of these laboratories are highly significant to this discussion and further debate on this subject. All these developments in Keeladi, Sivagalai and Adichanallur in Tamil Nadu indicate the enormous potential to review our own biases and prejudices in the construction of history and civilization in India. The ASI and the Centre require to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the Indian culture, history and civilisational sources than being restrictive within a set of geographical-political-ideological premises. More importantly, the Centre should acknowledge and recognise the role and functions of TNSDA which is governed by the Tamil Nadu Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains Act,1966 created by the assent of the President of India. The complementing energy and resources of the institutions like ASI and TNSDA should be renewed rather than being pitted against each other. The Tamil Nadu government should broaden the basis of its vision and extend the methodology to other southern states as a way of extending links with the other Iron Age findings in states like Karnataka and Telengana in order to overcome the historical neglect and cultural prejudice in writing/presenting the history and civilisation of India. Politics is intrinsic to science, technology, culture, society and history. It is too naïve to imagine science and history without politics. It is relevant to recall here Pericles, a Greek statesman associated with the ushering in of Athenian Golden Age and one of the greatest orators in history who maintained that 'Just because you do not take interest in politics does not mean politics won't take an interest in you'. ( Manivannan is a scholar-social activist in areas of education, human rights and sustainable development through an initiative 'Multiversity.')
Hindustan Times
22 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
NIA court rejects Gautam Navlakha's plea to travel to Delhi for 45 days
MUMBAI: The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court recently rejected an application filed by Gautam Navlakha, a civil rights activist booked under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence case, seeking permission to travel to and reside in Delhi for 45 days. Navlakha had previously moved an application to reside permanently in Delhi, which was rejected on June 19. Gautam Navlakha (HT Archives) Special judge Chakor Shrikrishna Baviskar, in an order passed on July 30, rejected Navlakha's plea on account of the binding directives of the Bombay High Court. Citing the seriousness of charges levelled against him, the court said his repeated requests to travel to Delhi cannot be justified. Navlakha, represented by advocate Wahab Khan, sought permission to travel to Delhi on several grounds. He wanted to visit his 86-year-old ailing sister and spend time with his partner's daughters and grandchildren, whom he had not seen in over five years. He also had pending medical check-ups and domestic affairs. Additionally, he expressed a desire to explore work opportunities in Mumbai by leveraging his connections in Delhi. The NIA strongly contested the application. Special public prosecutor Prakash Shetty, in his response, argued that the offences against Navlakha were serious and that he has 'international connections.' The prosecution expressed concerns that he 'may misuse liberty,' potentially continuing 'further conspiracy in connection with the present case' while in Delhi. The federal agency also raised the possibility that the accused may tamper with evidence, influence witnesses, or abscond, which could hinder expeditious disposal of the trial. The Bombay High Court granted bail to Navlakha on December 19, 2023, but barred him from leaving the jurisdiction of the trial court without prior permission from the special court. While the special court had previously allowed him to travel to Delhi for two months on November 7, 2024, citing 'genuinely serious' grounds, this did not justify repeated requests on similar grounds, it said. 'It does not mean that, every now and then, the applicant, on the same grounds, for the same reason, should be granted permission,' the order stated. The special judge observed that allowing such requests would contravene the High Court's mandate, which expected Navlakha to remain within the court's territorial jurisdiction except in 'exceptional and extraordinary circumstances.'
