(a) whether the Government has taken note that certain Indian Paralympic athletes have been forced to crowd-source their funding or depend on
external organizational funding for the 2016 Rio Paralympic games, if so, the
details thereof;
(b) the details of Paralympic athletes funded by the Sports Ministry for the Rio
2016 Paralympic Games; and
(c) the details of grants allocated and utilised for welfare and development of
Paralympic athletes in the last three years?
THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS
(SHRI SARBANANDA SONOWAL)
(a)&(b) Madam, no such case has been brought to the notice of the
Government. The Government has been extending financial assistance to Para
athletes as per the provisions of the Scheme of ‘Assistance to National Sports
Federation (NSF)’. In November, 2015, the Government revised the said scheme
whereby the amount of financial assistance has been raised upwards substantially.
The provision of the scheme cover expenses for organizing national/international
events in India, participation in international events abroad, coaching/training of
athletes/national teams, equipment support etc. In addition, Government has also
framed a scheme namely Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) to provide
financial assistance to athletes including Para athletes who have qualified for Rio
Olympics or are having
a fair chance of winning medals. 9 Para athletes have already been given funding
to the tune of Rs.108.90 lakhs under TOPS & National Sports Development Fund
(NSDF) for their training, travel expenses, boarding/lodging, cost of equipments
etc. Details are given in the Annexure.
(c) During the last three years, the following amount has been spent from
Central Government budget for the welfare and development of Para athletes
under the scheme of ‘Assistance to NSFs’:-
<pre>Year Amount (Rs. in lakhs)
2013-14 143.40
2014-15 197.72
2015-16 (Provisional) 278.51</pre>
In addition, Government has also given the following assistance from the NSDF:-
i. Rs.20.00 Lakhs to the Cricket Association for the Blind for the conduct of ‘Cricket World Cup for the Blind’.
ii. Cash Award of Rs.10.00 Lakhs each to 07 Para Athletes (Placed between 4th and 12th position in individual sports disciplines) in Paralympic Games, 2012.
iii. Cash Award of Rs.5.00 Lakhs each to the 17 members of the Indian Team for the 4th Cricket World Cup for the blind, which won the tournament.
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