Question : Promotion of Sports

(a) whether the Government is promoting popular sports like cricket and ignoring traditional sports prevalent in rural India, if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;

(b) whether adequate training and infrastructure facilities are not provided to sportspersons engaged in sports due to paucity of funds and if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the Government proposes to formulate any scheme for providing sports infrastructure, including stadium, playing field, tracks and sports training
facilities for the sportspersons including rural youth to compete in the international/national sports competitions;

(d) if so, the funds allocated/released/ spent during each of the last three years and the current year, scheme/sport-discipline/State-wise;

(e) whether the sports federations that are responsible for providing training to sportspersons are not utilizing the funds allocated to them;

(f) if so, whether the Government has any mechanism to assess the performance of sports federations and if so, the details thereof; and

(g) the steps taken by the Government to augment financial resources for sports sector through Public Private Partnership model?

THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS
[SHRI KIREN RIJIJU]

(a): Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) is promoting cricket. BCCI being resource rich, this Ministry is not providing financial assistance to BCCI or any athlete for Cricket. This Ministry is supporting indigenous/ traditional games such as Kho-Kho, Mallakhamb, Kabaddi, Kalarippayatu, Thangta, Gatka by providing assistance to the concerned sports federation/sports promotion organization.

(b): The sports infrastructure and training facilities of this Ministry can provide training to large number of athletes. The Government is committed to increase resources to meet the training needs of athletes. Infrastructure and training facilities are also made available by respective State/UT Governments. Private sector is also investing in sports infrastructure and training.

(c): Available sports infrastructure under this Ministry and of the State Governments provide training to large number of athletes. While responsibility for providing sports infrastructure rests with the State/ UT Governments, this Ministry is supplementing their efforts by bridging gaps in sports infrastructure and running sports infrastructure facilities of international levels.

(d): Assistance to athletes is not provided State/UT-wise. Details of assistance provided for training, participation in competitions and exposures abroad during last three years and current year are given in Annexures I to III. The details of funds released to States / Union Territories for bridging gaps in the sports infrastructure under Khelo India Scheme during last three years and current year is given in Annexures-IV.

(e): This Ministry provides financial assistance to National Sports Federations (NSFs) for training of athletes and their participation in competitions. Generally the funds are released after expenditure is incurred.

(f): Annual targets for training of athletes for high performance and their participation in competition is approved for different NSFs by this Ministry in the annual exercise of preparing Annual Calendar for Training and Competitions (ACTCs). The financial assistance is provided keeping in view the approved ACTC. This mechanism of assessing the performance of NSFs is built in the ACTCs.

(g): National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) has been set up to augment financial resources for sports through partnership with Corporates/Private Sector. Funds provided in the NSDF are exempted from the Income Tax and included as permissible activities under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to encourage corporate / private contribution of NSDF. The Government provides matching contribution to the NSDF.
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