Lok Sabha Question No. 264 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-05
Subject: Corporate Funds for Promotion of Sports
Ministry: YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS
Asked by: Ritesh Pandey

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 264 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.12.2023

Corporate Funds for Promotion of Sports

## 264. SHRI RITESH PANDEY:

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

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  taken  note  of  the  low  share  of corporate funds being devoted to the promotion of sports in comparison  to  the  overall Corporate  Social Responsibility (CSR)
- spending and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the measures being taken by the Government to increase private sector contributions to the National Sports Development Fund through CSR initiatives;
- (c) whether the Government plans to implement schemes like 'Adopt a Stadium' on the lines of 'Adopt a Heritage' to boost funding through Public-Private Partnerships; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS (SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR)

(a) & (b): The share of corporate funds being devoted to the promotion of  sports  as  a  part  of  their  Corporate  Social  Responsibility  (CSR) spending has been steadily increasing in the recent years. A number of initiatives  have  been  taken  by  the  Government  to  incentivize  the Corporate sector to adopt specific sports and training centres. Under the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) of the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (MYAS), the Government has been regularly interacting with the Corporate and Public Sector Undertakings requesting them to contribute to the NSDF and become active partners for  promotion  of  sports  in  the  country.  As  a  result,  many  corporate organisations have come forward to join hands with NSDF by providing financial  support  for  sports  development in  the  country  through  CSR funding. Some of such prominent organizations are: National Thermal Power  Corporation  Limited  (NTPC)  -  Rs.  115  crore  for  a  period  of  5 years; Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC) - Rs. 100 crore for  a  period  of  3  years;  Coal  India  Ltd.  (CIL)  -  Rs.  75  crore;  India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd. (IIFCL) - Rs. 30 crore; Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL)- Rs. 7 crore; General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) - Rs. 3.85 crore; Bharat Dynamic Limited (BDL) - Rs. 2.25 crore etc.

The  PSUs  or  Private  companies  release  CSR  contribution  / donation  for  the  activities  as  per  their  own  policies  /  priorities. Further,  corporate  entities  like  Coal  India  Ltd.,  India  Infrastructure Finance  Company  Limited  (IIFCL), Spice Jet,  DCM  Shriram,  are represented on the Council of NSDF.

Detailed instructions  have been  issued by the Ministry of Corporate  Affairs  regarding  CSR  funding,  and  Sports  is  included  in Schedule VII of  the  Companies  Act,  2013. Item  (vii)  of  the  Schedule provides  for  "training  to  promote  rural  sports,  nationally  recognized sports, Paralympic sports and Olympic sports.'

The  NSDF  guidelines  prescribe  that  the  Fund  shall  accept contributions from statutory bodies created under the Acts of Parliament  or  of  the  State  Legislatures,  the  United  Nations  and  its associated  bodies,  other  International  Organizations,  private  and public  corporate  sectors,  trusts,  societies  and  individuals  provided that the decision of the Council in case of acceptance or otherwise of money  from  an  individual  or  an  organization  shall be  final. All contributions  to  the  NSDF  have  100%  tax  exemption  as  per  sub- section(2) (iii) of the Clause (a) of the Section 80G of the Income Tax

private organizations have entered into the agreement with the Sports Authority of India (SAI), an autonomous organisation under the MYAS for  the  purposes  of  providing  training  in  specific  sports:-  Glenmark Aquatic  Foundation  (GAF),  Trivandrum  for  Swimming;  Dr.  SPMSPC, New  Delhi;  Olympic  Gold  Quest  (OGQ),  I  G  Stadium,  New  Delhi  for Cycling; Inspire Institute of Sports (IIS), Hisar for Athletics, Boxing & Wrestling;  Simply  Sports  Foundation  (SSF),  Bangalore  for  Sports Science  Programme  and  support  in  design  of  athletes'  kitchen  and fitness ecosystem.

Act. Further,  a  CSR  Conclave  was  organized  in  September, 2023  by the  Department of Public Enterprise. 40 PSUs and 4 Ministries were invited  to  participate.  During  the  conclave,  the  authorities  of  MYASNSDF  presented NSDF's journey and success stories since its inception  and  appealed  to  all  the  PSUs  and  Corporates  for  CSR contribution to NSDF for the development of Sports in the country. (c) &  (d): 'Sports' being  a State subject, the responsibility for formulation and implementation of schemes 'Adopt a Stadium' on the lines  of  'Adopt  a  Heritage'  to  boost  funding  through  Public-Private Partnerships, rests primarily with the State Governments as most of the existing sports infrastructure fall within their respective jurisdictions. However,  under  the  CSR  initiative  of  this  Ministry,  the  following

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