Government enhances support for sports, aims to strengthen National federations
The Union Sports Ministry has revised the grant for National sports federations with an eye on strengthening the sports ecosystem across the country.
Making the announcement on Thursday, the Union Sports Minister, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, said that the grant for conducting National championships in high-priority sports has been increased from Rs. 51 lakh to Rs. 90 lakh. It will be Rs. 75 lakh for priority sports.
The financial support for hosting international tournaments has been doubled from Rs. 1 crore to Rs. 2 crore.
Similarly, the monthly salary for Chief National coach has been increased from Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 7.5 lakh. The salary for other coaches has been revised from Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 3 lakh.
The diet allowance for athletes has been increased from Rs. 690 to Rs. 1000 per day, and for juniors, it has been revised from Rs. 480 to Rs. 850.
The Sports Minister emphasised that the National sports federations would get the best support from the Government, but they should devote 20% of their annual budget towards junior and youth development.
The Government has sought the National federations with an annual budget of more than Rs. 10 crore to have a High Performance Director (HPD) who will design and monitor the technical development for the sport.
The National federations would be able to use 10% of the grant from the Government for having administrative staff like CEO, Director, managers, etc.
Equally, the accredited sports academies will get support from the Government for having coaches and technical staff, sports science services and specialised equipment.
'We want to have a performance driven ecosystem in sports,' said Dr. Mandaviya.
Expressing happiness about the existing league system, as a more entertaining and engaging form of sports in hockey and kabaddi, the Minister noted that shooting and yoga would also have their league competition in the later part of the year.
'Cycling and Rugby league are in the final stage of preparation, while professional leagues in basketball, badminton, archery, boxing, wrestling, white water sports and polo are in the pipeline,' noted the Minister, even as he stressed that it was the best way to keep the athletes engaged, with an interested and lively audience enjoying the fun element.
The Minister assured that talent in any corner of the country would have a platform to get noticed, get absorbed into the system and be trained professionally.
He was categorical that the Government would not spare any measure to make Indian sports robust to ensure the best standards, as the country aims to host the Olympics in 2036.
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