Bring BCCI under RTI ambit: Assocham to Govt

The government should bring the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) under the ambit of the Right to Information Act, industry body Assocham today said.
"The BCCI is not a registered National Sports Federation as it does not take any grants from the government and thus it cannot be brought under the RTI Act.
"But if the national draft on Sports Development Bill 2013 is finally passed by the Parliament, then BCCI may not be able to use the word 'India'," it said in a communication State minister for Sports Minister Jitendra Singh.
As per the Draft National Sports Development Bill 2013, only those federations who come under the RTI ambit will have the right to use 'India' as the Team Name, it said.

The chamber has also suggested adding a clause in the draft that no sports organisation can use 'India', 'Indian' or any equivalent expression in any other language that does not comply with Sports Bill.
It said that the Bill should focus on aspects like encouraging privatisation in the sector, transforming India as a manufacturing base for sports' equipment, ensuring job security and incentives to sportspersons.

"A PPP model would be ideal to support players' training and sharpen their skills for participating in national and global sporting events, thus sports should be included in the list of activities to be recognised as CSR," it added.

The chamber has suggested to clearly defining the role of Sports Authority of India.
Though the bill proposes to bring in accountability on part of the National Sports Federations and the National Olympic Committee, it said that central government has a significant role to play in execution of said statues in the bill.