Lok Sabha Question No. 221 (STARRED), answered on 2023-12-19
Subject: Promotion of Sports
Ministry: YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS
Asked by: Krishna Pal Singh Yadav, Unmesh Bhaiyyasaheb Patil

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

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *221 ANSWERED ON 19.12.2023

Promotion of Sports

*221. DR. KRISHNA PAL SINGH YADAV: SHRI UNMESH BHAIYYASAHEB PATIL:

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

(a) whether it is a fact that the Government runs schemes for the promotion of  sports  which  are  gender-neutral  and  cater  to  all  sections  equally including  women  and  marginalized  sportspersons  and  if  so,  the  details thereof;

- (b)  whether  it  is  a  fact  that  under  the  Khelo  India  Scheme  there  is  a dedicated subcomponent of 'Sports for women' and if so, the details of the participation till date;
- (c) whether the Government has taken any steps to promote sports among differently-abled sportspersons and if so, the details thereof;
- (d)  whether  the  Government  has  set  up  dedicated  training  centres  and stadiums for the purpose and if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether the Government proposes to prepare any scheme to encourage participation of women in sports in the country, if so, the details thereof and the steps taken in this regard so far; and

(f) the details of funds allocated by the Government in this regard during the last three years and the current year, State/UT-wise?

ANSWER THE MINISTER OF YOUTH AFFAIRS & SPORTS { SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR }

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

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (f) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *221 TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.12.2023 REGARDING ' PROMOTION OF SPORTS ' ASKED BY DR. KRISHNA PAL SINGH YADAV AND SHRI UNMESH BHAIYYASAHEB PATIL, HON'BLE MEMBERS OF LOK SABHA.

(a)  'Sports'  being  a  State  subject,  the  responsibility  of  development  of sports,  including  promotion  of  gender  neutral  sports  in  the  country,  rests primarily with the State/Union Territory Governments. Central Government only  supplements  their  efforts.  However,  this  Ministry  is  running  various sports  promotional  schemes  across the  country which are  gender  neutral and  cater  to  all  sections  equally  including  women  and  marginalized sportspersons. These schemes include: (i) Khelo India -National Programme  for  Development  of  Sports;  (ii)  Assistance  to  National  Sports Federations; (iii) Special Awards to Winners in International Sports Events and their Coaches; (iv) National Sports Awards; (v) Pension to Meritorious Sportspersons;  (vi)  Pandit  Deendayal  Upadhyay  National  Sports  Welfare Scheme; (vii) National Sports Development Fund; and (viii) Running Sports Training Centres through Sports Authority of India. Details of these schemes are available in the public domain on the websites of this Ministry and the Sports Authority of India.

(b) Yes, Sir. Under the 'Sports for Women' sub -component of the Khelo India Schemes  special  emphasis  is  laid  upon  encouraging  the  participation  of women athletes. Under this initiative, various Khelo India Women's League are being conducted. Till now, women leagues have been organised in 19 sports disciplines across the country. 479 competitions have been organized for Women athletes with 52,086 participants. This initiative has significantly increased women participation in sports across the nation and has provided ample opportunities to women athletes to compete, learn and grow in all age groups. A portal named ASMITA (Achieving Sports Milestone by Inspiring Women through Action) was also launched for Women's League on 22 August 2023. Further, the ASMITA logo has also been integrated with Khelo India Women's League with the tagline 'Khel se hi pehchan', thereby giving identity to women athletes through sports. Also, the talented athletes under  the  Khelo  India  scheme  are  selected  /  identified  based  on  the performance during  the  Khelo  India  Games,  National  Championship,  Open Selection  Trial  conducted  by  the  concerned  National  Sports  Federations and School Games Federation of India. As of now, a total of 1341 women athletes  have  been  identified  under  the  Khelo  India  scheme  in  various sports disciplines.

As  a  special  initiative  for  encouraging  women  in  sports,  the  Khelo India 'Dus ka Dum' Sports competition was also launched on the occasion

of  International  Women's  Day  in  March  2023.  As  a  special  initiative  for encouraging  women  in  sports,  the  Khelo  India  'Dus  ka  Dum'  Sports competition  was  also  l aunched on the occasion of International Women's Day in March 2023. Over 1500 events were conducted with participation of more than one lakh women athletes in various parts of the country.

(c)  and  (d)  As  mentioned  in  (a)  above,  the  schemes  implemented  by  this Ministry supports all sportspersons, including the differently-abled sportspersons.

All sports infrastructure sanctioned under the Khelo India Scheme of this  Ministry  are  accessible  to  all  including,  persons  with  disabilities  and follow  the  harmonized  Guidelines  of  Accessible  Sports  Complex  and Residential Facilities for Sportspersons with Disabilities conceptualized as per International Standards and issued by this Ministry.

In addition, all stadiums and training centres operated by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), an autonomous body under aegis of this Ministry, have  been  made  disabled-friendly  and  are  upgraded  regularly  to  ensure comfort of the differentlyabled athletes. SAI's National Centre for Excellence (NCOE) at Gandhinagar, Gujarat, has been identified as the main centre for holding of sports activities pertaining to differently-abled athletes.

Further, Ist Khelo India Para Games have been held at New Delhi from 10 th  December to 17 th  December 2023.

- (e) No, Sir. As mentioned in (a) above, all sports promotional schemes run by  this  Ministry  are  gender  neutral  and  cater  to  all  sections  equally including women sportspersons.
- (f)  Funds  are  allocated  scheme-wise  and  not  State-wise  in  this  Ministry. Details of funds allocated under the sports development schemes/ programmes of this Ministry during the last three years and current year are given below:

| Financial Year   |   Budget Allocation (in ₹ crore) |
|------------------|----------------------------------|
| 2020-21          |                          1313.4  |
| 2021-22          |                          1993    |
| 2022-23          |                          1907.69 |
| 2023-24          |                          2462.59 |

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