Lok Sabha Question No. 1003 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-02
Subject: National Sports Governance Bill, 2024
Ministry: YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS
Asked by: Shri Anurag Singh Thakur

## MINISTRY OF YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA (DEPARTMENT OF SPORTS)

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1003

TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.12.2024

National Sports Governance Bill, 2024

1003. SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR:

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

- (a)  the  details  of  the  specific  provisions  introduced  in  the  National Sports  Governance  Bill,  2024  aimed  at  promoting  inclusivity  and support for differently-abled athletes;
- (b)  the  number  of  differently-abled  sportspersons  who  have  received assistance from the Government in the past five years, categorized by type  of  support  such  as  training,  financial  aid,  and  international exposure;
- (c) the measures being implemented to ensure that these athletes have equitable access to facilities, coaching, and competitive opportunities at national and international levels; and
- (d) the manner in which these initiatives align with the Government's commitment to fostering an inclusive sports environment and enhancing  the  performance  of  differently-abled  athletes  on  global platforms?

ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS (DR. MANSUKH MANDAVIYA)

- (a) The (draft) National Sports Governance Bill 2024 has been placed in public  domain  for  inviting  comments/  suggestions  of  public  and  the stakeholders, as part of pre-legislative consultation process, and can be accessed at

https://yas.nic.in/sites/default/files/Draft%20National%20Sports%20Gov ernance%20Bill%20-2024.pdf.

The bill provides for the development and promotion of sports, welfare measures  for  sportspersons  (including  Paralympic  sportspersons), ethical practices in sports, through good governance practices. Further, section 4 of the bill addresses the establishment and recognition of the National  Paralympic  Committee  (NPC),  a  body  exclusively  for  the paralympic sportspersons. Additionally, Chapter VI, which pertains to the Athlete Commission, has been included to represent the views and opinions of athletes and ensure their voices are heard within the NPC.

- (b) Under  the  Assistance  to  National  Sports  Federations  (NSFs) scheme, athletes selected for international competitions are provided with all requisite facilities for their preparations including wholesome nutritious diet, food supplements, equipment support, state-of-the-art infrastructure, lodging, travelling facilities, services of reputed Indian and  Foreign  Coaches/supporting  staff,  scientific  &  medical  support, sports kit, etc. Besides regular international competitions and pathway events, sportspersons supported towards the participation in the mega sporting events, in the last 5 years, are as under:

|   S. No. | Event                                    |   No. of sportspersons |
|----------|------------------------------------------|------------------------|
|        1 | Special Olympics World Summer Games 2019 |                    289 |
|        2 | Tokyo Paralympics 2020                   |                     54 |
|        3 | Deaflympics, 2021                        |                     65 |
|        4 | Commonwealth Games 2022                  |                     16 |
|        5 | Para Asian Games 2022                    |                    303 |

|   6 | Special Olympics World Summer Games 2023   |   198 |
|-----|--------------------------------------------|-------|
|   7 | Paris Paralympics 2024                     |    84 |

Apart from this, under Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), talented athletes are being selected and provided Financial Assistance like Out of Pocket Allowances, equipment support, coaches etc. A total of 158 differently-abled sportspersons have been supported in the last 5 years.

(c) & (d) The para-athletes are provided all requisite facilities at par with  other  sportspersons,  besides  their  special  needs.  Indian  paraathletes are being supported under various Schemes of this Ministry and Sports Authority of India (SAI). Also, all the SAI Stadiums and training centres have been made disabled-friendly and up-gradation of the same is  carried  out  from  time to time to  ensure comfort of specially-abled athletes.

Additionally, para sports have been placed in the 'Priority' category for financial assistance by the Government, and all the requisite assistance is provided for training and competitive exposure of the para athletes, at national and international level, as per the norms laid down for this purpose.

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