Lok Sabha Question No. 395 (STARRED), answered on 2018-03-22
Subject: Development of Sporting Culture
Ministry: YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS
Asked by: MANOJ RAJORIA, (ADV.) JOICE GEORGE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF YOUTH AFFAIRS & SPORTS (DEPARTMENT OF SPORTS)

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *395

TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.03.2018

Development of Sporting Culture

*395.

DR. MANOJ RAJORIA:

ADV. JOICE GEORGE:

Will  the  Minister  of  YOUTH  AFFAIRS  AND  SPORTS  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether the sporting culture in India has been found lacking and if so, the reasons therefor along with the reaction of the Government thereto;
- (b)  whether  the  Government  has  taken  major  initiatives  to  revive  and develop the sporting culture in the country from the grassroot level and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the pool of talent created at the local community, school and university  levels  needs  much  improvement  in  terms  of  quantity  and quality,  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  reaction  of  the  Government thereto; and
- (d) whether the Government proposes to invest with a long term view to develop  the  sporting  culture  and  generate  sports  talents  and  if  so,  the details thereof?

ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR YOUTH AFFAIRS & SPORTS {COL. RAJYAVARDHAN RATHORE (RETD.)}

(a) to (d) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF THE LOK SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  *395  FOR  22.03.2018  ASKED  BY  DR. REGARDING

MANOJ RAJORIA AND ADV. JOICE GEORGE, MPS, DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTING CULTURE

(a)to (d) India has a long tradition and history of sports and sporting culture is prevalent throughout the country in varying degrees. The  Government  is  taking  continuous  steps  to  improve  the  sporting culture  and  talent  pool  in  the  country,  especially  at  community,  school and university levels,in respect of international competitive sports.

Accordingly, to infuse sports culture and achieve sporting excellence in  the  country  and  to  encourage  sports  all  over  the  country thus allowing the population to harness the power of sports through its cross-cutting influence, namely, holistic development of children & youth, community  development,  social  integration,  gender  equality,  healthy lifestyle,  national  pride  and  economic  opportunities  related  to  sports development,  the  Ministry,  based  on  the  experience  of  implementing various  sports  promotional  schemes  and  stakeholder  consultations  / feedback, has revamped the Khelo India Scheme being implemented from 2016-17.  The  revamped  Khelo  India  Scheme  came  into  effect  from  14th October 2017. Salient features of the Scheme is given at Annexure - I.

The Khelo India Scheme has specific verticals for development of sports  at  community,  school  and  University  levels.  The  Scheme  also includes  a  vertical  of  'Talent  Identification  and  Development'  through  a Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) Programme. The relevant provisions of the vertical are given in Annexure - II.

Further, financial assistance to National Sports Federations (NSFs) under the Scheme of Assistance to NSFs  for various activities, such as, holding coaching camps  for national level sportspersons, national championships  for  sub-junior,  junior  and  senior  categories,  organizing international tournaments in India, participation in international tournaments abroad, procurement of sports/sports science equipment and consumables,  engagement  of  foreign  coaches/experts  to  train  athletes, etc.

In  addition,  Sports  Authority  of  India  (SAI),  an  autonomous  body under the aegis of Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, is implementing the following  sports  promotional  schemes  across  the  country  to  identify talented sports persons in the age group of 8-25 years and nurture them to excel at national and international competitions :

-  National Sports Talent Contest Scheme (NSTC)
-  Army Boys Sports Company (ABSC)
-  SAI Training Centre (STC)
-  Special Area Games (SAG)
-  Extension Centre of STC/SAG
-  Centre of Excellence (COE)
-  National Sports Academies (NSA)

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## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF THE LOK SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  *395  FOR  22.03.2018  ASKED  BY  DR. MANOJ RAJORIA AND ADV. JOICE GEORGE, MPS, REGARDING DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTING CULTURE

Annexure - I

## Vision

To infuse sports culture and achieve sporting excellence in the country.

## Mission

To encourage sports for all thus allowing the population across gender and all age groups to harness the power of sports through its cross-cutting influence, namely, holistic development of  children  &  youth,  community  development,  social  integration,  gender  equality,  healthy lifestyle, national pride and economic opportunities related to sports development.

The Khelo India Scheme would include the following components/ objectives:-

- i. Play Field Development
- ii. Community Coaching Development
- iii. State Level Khelo India Centres
- iv. Annual Sports Competitions
- v. Talent Search and Development
- vi. Utilisation and Creation/ Upgradation of Sports Infrastructure
- vii. Support to National/Regional/State Sports Academies
- viii. Physical Fitness of School going Children
- ix. Sports for Women
- x. Promotion of Sports among persons with disabilities
- xi. Sports for Peace and Development
- xii. Promotion of rural and indigenous/tribal games

The various components are briefly explained in succeeding paragraphs.

1. Play  Field  Development  : A National  inventory  of  playfields  and  sports  infrastructure will  be  prepared  on  a  Geographic  Information  System  (GIS)  platform  for  their  optimum utilisation.  In  order  to  put  in  place  a  strong  institutionalized  mechanism  for  preserving, protecting, developing and promoting playfields, State and district playfield Associations will be created in all States/UTs on the lines of National Playfield Association of India (NPFAI). District and State level Associations will register existing play areas, map them on the GIS platform and affiliate  with  the  National  Playing  Fields  Association  (NPFAI)  through  district  and  State associations,  thereby  creating  a  National  database.  Development  of  playgrounds  in  all  gram

## Salient feature of the Khelo India Scheme

panchayats can be taken upin convergence with the scheme of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)  and any other scheme(s) of the State Government/Central  Government.  It  would  also  include  development  of  model  playfields  on pilot basis.

2. Community  Coaching  Development  : A  cascading  model  of  Community  Coach Development will be adopted for development of community coaches across the country. This will  involve  skill  development  and  certification  system.  A  short  term  community  coaching development  programme  will  be  evolved  and  identified  Physical  Education  Teachers  (PETs) nominated by States/UTs will be trained as master trainers or coach developers. Such  Master Trainers will, in turn, train other PETs/Volunteers in their respective States/UTs as community coaches and develop teams at community  level. Online courses for  community  coach development will also be developed at primary and advanced levels.
3. State  Level  Khelo  India  Centres  : A  large  number  of  sports  infrastructure  set  up throughout the country are not being utilised optimally due to lack of coaches/part-time coaches, supports staff such as physiotherapists and masseurs, equipment, proper field of play, consumables,  day  boarding  facilities,  etc.,  as  well  as  lack  of  adequate  financial  support  for meeting recurring expenditure. Accordingly, it is proposed to support better utilization of sports infrastructure belonging to States/UTs through suitable Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and  provide  support  for  engagement  of  coaches,  providing  day-boarding  facilities  as  per  the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Scheme.
4. Annual  Sports  Competitions  : Khelo  India  will  be  the  basic  platform  to  showcase sporting skills  and  accordingly  become a platform for talent  spotting  at  the  national  level  and providing  development  pathways  for  gifted  and  talented  children  to  achieve  excellence.  The Central Government will organize the following National level competitions, i.e., Khelo  India National School Games and Khelo India National University Games, in respect of priority sports disciplines  at  various  places  across  the  country  by  associating  concerned  National  Sports Federations  (NSFs)  and  School  Game  Federation  of  India  (SGFI)  and  University  Sports promotion bodies including Association of Indian Universities (AIU).
5. Talent Identification and Development : The National competitions involving schools, colleges,  Universities  and  NSFs  under  Khelo  India  Scheme,  National  Championships,  and National Sports Talent Search Portal of SAI, will provide a platform for identification of talented sports  persons  in  priority  Sports  disciplines  in  which  the  country  has  potential/advantage.  In addition to selection of prize winners, the duly constituted talent identification committee may also  adopt  globally  accepted  scientific  methods  to  spot  and  identify  talent  in  various  sports disciplines.  Identification of sporting talent will involve conduct of pan-India trials of children by Talent Scouts (to be engaged for the purpose), in association with States/UTs.

## 6. Utilization and Creation of Sports Infrastructure

Majority of the schools, colleges and even Universities lack proper play grounds as well as  sporting  infrastructure  in  the  country.  Efforts  will  be  made  to  utilize  the  existing  available sports infrastructure through a system of active management committee consisting of players and members of neighborhood community  as  well  all  over  the  country  especially  those  under  the control  of  Central  Government/State  Governments.  A  suitable  mechanism  will  be  evolved  to identify gaps in availability of sporting infrastructure across the country and fill these gaps with support  under  Khelo  India.    Scheme  of  Khelo  India  will  also  be  converged  with  Members  of Parliament  Local  Area  Development  (MPLAD)  Scheme.  The  States  may  also  provide  for convergence of Member of Legislative Assembly Local Area Development (MLALAD) Scheme with Khelo India Scheme. This Component will have the following two sub components :

- i. University  Centre  of  Excellence  Programme:    For  setting  up  centers  of  sporting excellence in selected Universities.
- ii. Creation of Appropriate Sports Infrastructure:  Under this component, grants-in-aid will be provided to States/ UTs, SAI etc. to develop critical sports infrastructure and other infrastructure where there are gaps.
7. Support to National/ Regional/State Sports Academies : The sports talents  identified under the Scheme will be given the option to join SAI National Sports Academies, State Sports Academies and Sports Schools or Sports Academies established by private sector. Grants-in-aid will be provided for establishment, operation and maintenance of sports academies in respect of identified  disciplines  to  Sports  Authority  of  India,  State  Governments  or  to  private  sector  or sports  person  under  Public  Private  Partnership  (PPP)  mode  for  facilitating  and  supplementing Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) programme (for 8 years). At least one academy for Para Athletes will be supported.
8. Physical Fitness : An effort will be made to implement a component of physical fitness across  all  schools  in  India  under  Khelo  India.    National  Physical  Fitness  parameters  will  be evolved region- wise and a tool kit will be provided to each school to evaluate physical fitness of all school going children throughout the country, in all States/UTs. A mechanism will be evolved to  perform  an  advisory  role  for  integration  of  Sports  and  physical  education.  Sports  will  be integrated  with  School  education  by  making  it  a  compulsory  subject  for  which  marks  will  be awarded. This will be done in conjunction with the Department of School Education & Literacy.
9. Sports for Women : While all  the  components  of  the  Khelo  India  Scheme  are  gender neutral  and  afford  opportunities  to  women  too  for  participating  in  sporting  activities  and development of sports, it is proposed to hold annual national competitions for women. Emphasis will be laid on such sports disciplines where there is less participation of women so that more number of women will participate in such sports disciplines.
10. Sports for Peace &Development : The Government of India, under the Special Package  for  J&K  is  providing  funds  to  the  tune  of  Rs.200  crore  for  enhancement  of  sports facilities in the State. To ensure optimal utilization of these infrastructure, soft support in terms

of  coaches,  equipment,  consumables,  technical  support,  competition  etc.  will  be  provided. Efforts will be made to organize block level competitions in respect of sports disciplines popular in the State of J&K for positive engagement of youth. Similar efforts will also be made in case of other extremism and terrorism affected and other disturbed areas.

11. Promotion  of  sports  among  persons  with  disabilities  : Financial  assistance  will  be provided to States/UTs and SAI for creation of specialist sports infrastructure for persons with disabilities.  Funds  required  for  making  stadia  disabled  friendly  /  barrier  free  will  be  accessed from Scheme for Implementation of Persons with Disabilities Act (SIPDA) of Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. The funds provided under this head will be used for classification of players, equipment, training and preparation of teams for Paralympic Games and disciplines and competitions.

12. Promotion of rural and indigenous/tribal games : In order to showcase our rural and indigenous/tribal  games,  annual  competitions  will  be  held  annually  under  the  Khelo  India Scheme  in  rural  and  indigenous/tribal  games  alternately.  A  dynamic  and  interactive  website providing information on such games will also be put up. This will not only help disseminate information  and  pique  the  curiosity  of  the  present  generation  about  these  games  but  also encourage children and youth to take up these games in a major way, paving way for their future mainstreaming.

## Financial Implications

Rs.1756 crore is the estimated expenditure to be incurred during the period from 2017-18 to 2019-20.

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## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF THE LOK SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  *395  FOR  22.03.2018  ASKED  BY  DR. MANOJ RAJORIA AND ADV. JOICE GEORGE, MPS, REGARDING DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTING CULTURE

## Annexure - II

## Relevant provisions for 'Talent Identification and Development'under the Khelo India Scheme

The  National  competitions  involving  schools,  colleges,  Universities  and  NSFs  under Khelo India Scheme, National Championships, and National Sports Talent Search Portal of SAI, will provide a platform for identification of talented sports persons in priority Sports disciplines in which the country has potential/advantage.  In addition to selection of prize winners, the duly constituted talent identification committee may also adopt globally accepted scientific methods to spot and identify talent in various sports disciplines. The  identification of talented sportspersons  will  be  done  in  a  transparent  manner  through  competitive  performance  and assessment  made  through  scientifically  designed  battery  of  tests.      Further,  a  National  Talent Search  Portal  has  been  launched  recently  which  will  provide  seamless  access  to  upload individual  achievements.  In  addition,  the  Gujarat  model  of  mobile  van  will  be  adopted  for carrying  out  scientific  evaluation  at  remote  places  for  better  identification  of  the  talented sportspersons.  During  the  talent  identification  drive  sporting  talent  hubs,  discipline  wise, including indigenous games, shall be identified and duly mapped. Efforts will be made through sports academies to conduct special programmes to encourage such specific sport / game in that area.

Out  of  the  talented  players  identified  in  priority  sports  disciplines  at  various  levels through different avenues, best talents in those sports discipline will be identified by the High Powered  Committee  and  provided  annual  financial  assistance,  at  the  rate  of  Rs.5.00  lakh  per annum,  for  a  period  of  8  years  under  a  Long  Term  Athlete  Development  Programme. Continuation of support to an individual athlete will be subject to his/her progress/performance in  the  identified  sports  discipline  concerned,  ensuring  the  best  performers,  having  potential  to excel at the highest level, are given continuous support and non-performers/ non achievers can be taken out of the system. This will ensure a sizable bench strength that the country is lacking at present. Additional funding requirement, if any, shall be met through mobilizing CSR support.

An  amount  of  Rs.10  crore  annually  will  be  earmarked  for  maintenance  of  the  Online Portal, identification of sporting talents through different avenues, including through advanced scientific  profiling,  short  listing  of  talents  and  recommending  the  best  talents  for  providing support. Identification of sporting talent will involve conduct of pan-India trials involving about 50,000 to 1,00,000 children by Talent Scouts (to be engaged for the purpose), in association with States/UTs. An amount of Rs.50 crore will be earmarked annually for providing annual financial assistance, at the rate of Rs.5.00 lakh per annum for 1000 athletes, for a period of 8 years, to identified athletes, under a Long Term Athlete Development Programme. Thus, Rs. 60 crore (Rs. 50 crore for talent  nurturing  towards Training /  Coaching, Consumables & Equipment, Sports Nutrition support, Sports Science Support etc., and Rs. 10 crore for maintenance of online portal, Identification  of  Talent  through  trials,  shortlisting  of  identified  talents  through  Scientific profiling etc.). In the second year, when additional 1000 athletes are added, Rs. 110 crore (Rs. 50 crore each for first year and second year athletes for their talent nurturing and Rs. 10 crore for talent  search  and  development)  and  so  on.  The  expenditure  will  be  incurred  on  various components mentioned above and no fee/scholarship will be paid to the athlete.

Department  of  Sports  will  provide  financial  assistance  as  well  as  overall  guidance, supervision and monitoring. Implementation will be through SAI and involve State Governments as  well  as  reputed  athletes  and  private  bodies.  International  experts  shall  also  be  engaged  for project implementation.

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