Lok Sabha Question No. 3498 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-23
Subject: Financial Assistance to Sportspersons
Ministry: YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS
Asked by: KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL, DEVJI MANSINGRAM PATEL, GOPAL CHINAYYA SHETTY, DILIP KUMAR MANSUKHLAL GANDHI

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3498

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 23/3/2017

Financial Assistance to Sportspersons

- +3498.  SHRI KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL:

SHRI DEVJI M. PATEL:

SHRI GOPAL SHETTY:

SHRI DILIPKUMAR MANSUKHLAL GANDHI

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

- (a) the   details   of   schemes   under   which   financial   assistance   for promotion of various sports is provided by the Government;
- (b) whether   the   Government   provides   cash   incentives   to sportspersons under various sports disciplines   to   encourage their participation and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has any provisions of providing sports equipments to the sportspersons and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government has taken note of alleged irregularities in   the   utilization   of   financial   assistance   released   by   the Government for the sportspersons during the last three years and the current year;
- (e) if   so,   the   action   taken  by the Government against those held
- responsible for such irregularities; and
- (f) the   steps   taken/being   taken   by   the   Government   to   prevent recurrence of such irregularities in future?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS (SHRI VIJAY GOEL)

- (a) to (c) Madam,   'Sports'   is   a   State   subject.   Promotion   & development of various sports disciplines is the primary responsibility of   the   State   Government/   National   Sports   Federations   (NSFs).   The Government supplements the efforts of the State Governments/ NSFs by providing financial assistance under the following schemes:-
1. Assistance to National Sports Federations (NSFs):- Under the Scheme   grants   are   provided   to   the   recognized   NSFs   for organizing National/International tournaments   in   India, participation   of   National   team/athletes   in   the   international competitions abroad, coaching/training of national team/athletes in India and abroad, engagement of foreign coaches, equipment support etc.

To promote sports in the country, Sports Authority of India (SAI)   is   also   implementing   the   following   sports   promotion schemes to identify talented sports persons in the age groups at national and international competitions:

- 
- National Sports Talent Contest Scheme (NSTC)
- 
- Army Boys Sports company (ABSC)
-  SAI Training Center (STC)
-  Special Area Games (SAG)
-  Extension Centers of STC/SAG
-  Center of Excellence (COE)
-  National Sports Academy (NSA)

Accordingly, SAI has established 10 Regional Centers and 02

educational   institutions   to   implement   the   above   sports promotions schemes in the country through 273 SAI sports centers.

2. Scheme of National Sports Development Fund(NSDF):- Identified probable   athletes   and   selected   elite   athletes   are   provided financial assistance under the Target Olympic Podium (TOP) Scheme under the National Sports Development Fund with the objective of identifying and supporting potential medal prospects for Olympic games.
3. Khelo India - National Programme for Development of  Sports:The Government has launched a new Central Sector Scheme namely 'Khelo India - National Programme for Development of Sports' to spot talent through countrywide competitions, to train and groom the talent and to provide sporting infrastructure for honing the sporting skills for implementation from the financial year   2016-17   onwards.   This   Scheme   provides   for   holding   of sports competitions in two age groups of (i) under 14 and (ii) under 17 all over India to encourage mass participation of both boys and girls in Sports in both urban and rural areas, sports talent   identification   and   creatin   of   sports   infrastructure facilities,   namely,   Synthetic   Athletic   Track,   Synthetic   Hockey field,   Synthetic   Turf   Football   Ground,   Multipurpose   hall, Swimming pool and construction of stadia complex.
4. Scheme of Incentives to Sports Persons:-

Under the scheme of special awards to medal winners in international sports events and their coaches, cash awards are given to sportspersons and coaches. Besides, Government also confers the following awards with award money on distinguished players & coaches. :-

|   Name of Award | Name of Award                 | Award money   |
|-----------------|-------------------------------|---------------|
|               1 | Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award | Rs. 7.5 Lakh  |
|               2 | Arjuna Award                  | RS. 5.0 Lakh  |
|               3 | Dhyanchand Awards             | RS. 5.0 Lakh  |
|               4 | Dronacharya Award             | RS. 5.0 Lakh  |

5. National Welfare Fund for sportspersons:-

Under the scheme financial assistance is provided to outstanding sportspersons of  yesteryears, living in indigent circumstances who had   brought   glory   to   the   country   in   sports.   Lump   sum   ex-gratia assistance is given to the sportspersons or their families for medical treatment etc.

6.  Scheme of Sports Fund for Pension to Meritorious Sportspersons:-

Under this scheme, those sportspersons who are Indian citizens and have won gold, silver and bronze medals in Olympic Games, World Cup/world championships Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and Paralympic Games and have retired from active sports career are eligible for life pension. (d) to (f) No such incident has been reported. In order to  ensure proper utilization of Government grants released to NSFs, the Ministry insists on submission of utilization certificates and audited accounts. Balance grant and future grants for an event is released only after settlement of accounts for the previous grant.  Moreover, the accounts of NSFs are to be audited by the Chartered Accountants in the Panel of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). Also, the accounts of the NSFs receiving Government grant exceeding Rs 1.00 crore are subject to audit from the CAG.

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