Various government schemes in India to groom up poor talented players

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports       03-May, 2016 14:36 IST

The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs & Sports, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal has said that following major schemes are being implemented by the Department of Sports for the development of sports in the country:

1.      Scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations (NSFs) for conduct of National Championships at Senior, Junior, Sub-Junior level for men and women, conduct of international tournaments in India, participation of sportspersons in international sports competitions, organizing coaching camps, engagement of foreign coaches, and procurement of sports equipments.

2.      National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) for various activities including giving assistance to elite athletes, who are medal prospects for their customized and tailor-made training and competition exposure.

3.      Scheme of Human Resource Development in Sports focusses on developing human resources in sports sciences and sports medicine for the overall development of sports and games in the country. The scheme also provides assistance to coaches and referees / judges to upgrade knowledge / accreditation level and assistance for participation and conduct of seminars in India, etc.

4.      Scheme of Special Cash Awards for Winners of medals in international sports events and their coaches.

5.      Scheme of Pension to Meritorious Sportspersons after they retire from active sports career with the objective of providing them financial security and incentivizing sporting achievements.

6.      Scheme of National Sports Awards, viz, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Awards, Dronacharya Awards, Dhyanchand Awards for honouring them for their achievements and contribution as sportspersons and coaches.

7.      National Welfare Fund for Sportspersons for providing lump sum financial assistance to sportspersons now living in indigent conditions for their medical treatment etc.

8.      Scheme of Sports & Games for Persons with Disabilities for broad-basing of sports among differently-abled sportspersons by way of conduct of training for community coaches, conduct of sports competitions and providing assistance to schools/institutes having differently-abled sportspersons on their rolls for procurement of sports equipments and engagement of coaches on contract basis.

9.      A new scheme, known as Khelo India - National Program for Development of Sports, which comprises of 3 major components, namely Annual Competitions, Talent Search and Sports Infrastructure, is being launched during 2016-17.

Following schemes are being implemented by Sports Authority of India (SAI), an autonomous body under administrative control of the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, for talent identification and nurturing of identified talented sportspersons development of sports:

1.      National Sports Talent Contest (NSTC): The main objective of the scheme is to identify gifted and talented sportspersons among school children in the age group of 8-14 years.

2.      Army Boys Sports Companies (ABSC) is implemented in collaboration with the Army. Children in the age group of 8-16 years are imparted scientific training to achieve excellence at national and international levels. The scheme also provides job opportunities in the Indian Army.

3.      In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today the Minister said, special Area Games (SAG): This Scheme follows an area-specific approach to scout and nurture talent for modern competitive games and sports from tribal, rural, coastal and hilly areas of the country. The main objective of the scheme is to train talented and meritorious sportspersons in the age group of 12-18 years.

4.      SAI Training Centres (STC): Under this scheme, talented youth in the age group of 12-18 years are given the option to join the scheme on residential or non-residential basis.

5.      Centres of Excellence (COX): The main objective of this scheme is to identify and train outstanding sportspersons who are medal prospects for the country in international competitions.

All schemes of the Department of Sports and the Sports Authority of India aiming at identification of talented sportspersons are equally applicable to poor talented sportspersons.

Comprehensive data relating to number of talented players identified from rural and tribal areas is not maintained.