The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Sarbananda Sonowal has said that recently, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports has revised the schemes of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, Arjuna Award, Dhyan Chand Award, Dronacharya Award and Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar. As per the schemes, following is the composition of Selection Committees for the respective National Sports Awards:
For Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award:
| 1 | Chairperson | To be nominated by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports |
| 2 | Sportspersons of eminence (Olympians or previous Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna or Arjuna Awardees) | 4 members |
| 3 | Sports Journalists / Experts / Commentators | 3 members |
| 4 | A sportsperson of eminence / sports administrator / sports expert belonging to para sports | 1 member |
| 5 | Sports Administrator | 1 member |
| 6 | Director General, Sports Authority of India | Ex-officio member |
| 7 | Joint Secretary (Sports), Department of Sports | Member Secretary |
For Arjuna Award:
| 1 | Chairperson | A retired judge of Supreme Court/ High Court |
| 2 | Sportspersons of eminence (Olympians/ previous Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna or Arjuna Awardees) | 4 members |
| 3 | Sports Journalists / Experts / Commentators | 3 members |
| 4 | A sportsperson of eminence / sports administrator / sports expert belonging to para sports | 1 member |
| 5 | Sports Administrator | 1 member |
| 6 | Director General, Sports Authority of India | Ex-officio member |
| 7 | Joint Secretary (Sports), Department of Sports | Member Secretary |
For Dhyan Chand Award:
| 1 | Chairperson | To be nominated by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports |
| 2 | Sportspersons of eminence (Olympians / previous Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardees / Arjuna Awardees / Dhyan Chand Awardees) | 3 members |
| 3 | Sports Journalists / Experts / Commentators | 2 members |
| 4 | Sports Administrator | 1 member |
| 5 | Director General, Sports Authority of India | Ex-officio member |
| 6 | Joint Secretary (Sports), Department of Sports | Member Secretary |
For Dronacharya Award:
| 1 | Chairperson | To be nominated by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports |
| 2 | Sportspersons of eminence (Olympians/ previous Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna or Arjuna Awardees Awardees) | 2 members |
| 3 | Previous Dronacharya Awardees from different disciplines | 3 members |
| 4 | Sports Journalists / Experts / Commentators | 2 members |
| 5 | Sports Administrator | 1 member |
| 6 | Director General, Sports Authority of India | Ex-officio member |
| 7 | Joint Secretary (Sports), Department of Sports | Member Secretary |
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar:
| 1. | Secretary, Department of Sports, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports | Chairperson |
| 2. | Previous awardees of Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar | 2 members |
| 3. | Nominee of Industry associations, viz., Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Associated Chamber of Commerce (ASSOCHEM) etc | 1 member |
| 4 | Sports Journalists / Experts / Commentators | 1 member |
| 5. | Secretary (Sports) (in person) of State Government | 1 member |
| 6. | Representative of Indian Olympic Association | 1 member |
| 7. | Representative of a Non-Governmental Organization, active in sports | 1 member |
| 8. | Director General, Sports Authority of India | Member (Ex-officio) |
| 9. | Joint Secretary (Sports), Department of Sports, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports | Member (Ex-officio) |
| 10. | Deputy Secretary (Sports) / Director (Sports), Department of Sports | Member-Secretary (Ex-officio) |
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today Shri Sonowal said, Constitution of the Selection Committees, as per above mentioned composition, is done with the approval of the competent authority after the last date of receipt of applications / nominations is over. Existing eligibility criteria for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, Arjuna Award, Dhyan Chand Award, Dronacharya Award and Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar are given under:
| S. No. | Name of the Award | Eligibility criteria |
| 1 | Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award | The spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of four years immediately preceding the year during which award is to be given shall be honoured with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for excellence in Sports & Games at international level i.e. Olympic/Asian/ Commonwealth/World Games/Championships/World Cup and equivalent recognized international tournaments |
| 2 | Arjuna Award | To be eligible for the Award, a sportsperson should have had not only good performance over the previous four years at the International level but also should have shown qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and a sense of discipline. |
| 3 | Dhyan Chand Award | To be eligible for the Award, a sportsperson should have had not only good performance at international level but also should have continued to contribute to promotion of sports in his individual capacity even after his career as a sportsperson is over. A sportsperson should also have shown qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and sense of discipline. |
| 4 | Dronacharya Award | To be eligible for the award, coach, whether he/she works full time or part time as coach, he/she should have produced outstanding achievement over a period of four years immediately preceding the year in which the award is to be given. Nominated coach will have to submit details of periods for which he/she coached the disciple(s) in question against whose performance he/she is seeking the Award.
For 2 awards earmarked for lifetime contribution in coaching, achievements of the coach in producing outstanding sportspersons over a period of 20 years or more will be taken into account. |
| 5 | Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar | Any corporate entity, public or private, sports control boards and non-governmental organization (NGOs) including sports bodies at state and national level, which has played a visible role in the area of sports promotion and development will be eligible to be considered for Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar.Â
For the category of Identification and nurturing of budding/young talent’, the entity should have identified and nurtured at least 50 young and budding sportspersons each year during the last three years.  Â
For the category of ‘Encouragement to sports through corporate social responsibility, the entities should have contributed a minimum of 5% of their gross profit or an amount not less than Rs. 2 crore in the preceding three financial years towards sports promotion and development. Outlays meant purely for commercial purposes will not be counted towards this contribution. Only contributions of non-commercial nature as part of corporate social responsibility will be considered for assessing the contribution made by the corporate concerned, towards the promotion and development of sports in the country. Copies of audited statement of accounts for the last here years should be submitted alongwith application.Â
For the category of ‘Employment of sportspersons and sports welfare measures’, the entity should have recruited at least 50 sportspersons during last three years.
For the category of ‘Sports for Development’, only non-governmental organizations, whi ch have been working for promotion and development of sports at least for the last three years would be eligible to apply. Memorandum of Association, Rules & Regulations, Bye-laws, etc under which applicant NGO has been established and documents indicating the source of funds for its functioning and activities should also be submitted alongwith application.
The Sports Departments of the State Governments and the Central Government mandated specifically for promotion and development sports should not be considered for the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar. |
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