All India Council of Sports (AICS) today asked the government to treat sports as a priority sector and reiterated its demand to enhance the sports budget at par with other leading countries.
In its fourth meeting held here under the chairmanship of V K Malhotra, the AICS said the current sports budget was not adequate to prepare the country's athletes for international competitions as well as for promotion of sports.
"In view of the Prime Ministers ambitious programme to prepare the sportspersons for the next 12 years which will cover three Olympic Games, 2020 to 2028, there is a urgent need to recognise sports as a priority sector and for that a big annual financial allocation is required," AICS President Malhotra said.
Malhotra said that Prime Minister's decision to set up a task force to oversee the preparations of Indian sportspersons for the future Olympics and Asian Games was very reassuring.
"Since Hon'ble PM's initiative to set up Task Force for the preparation of Indian contingents for Olympic Games 2020, 2024 & 2028, members unanimously agreed to need for drawing roadmap for multi-discipline international Games viz Asian Games & Commonwealth Games 2018, 2022 & 2026 and Olympic Games - 2020, 2024 & 2028 with sufficient number of Sub-Junior and Junior talent of at least 14 top Olympic disciplines as future probables and provide them financial and technical support including equipment, coaching-cum-competition camps by providing in-house training facilities," the AICS said in a release.
The members present in the meeting requested Malhotra to take up with the Prime Minister the matter of providing Central Government Health Services (CGHS) cover to national medal winners and international sportspersons and sports and adventure awardees.
It was decided to once again recommend a robust pension scheme for meritorious sportspersons so that they can lead a respectful life after retiring from active sports, the release added.
Among those present in today's meeting were Wrestling Federation of India President Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, Gajender Singh Shekhawat, Indian Weightlifting Federation chief B P Baishya, eminent former sportspersons P T Usha, P Gopichand, Kunjarani Devi, Sports Secretary and SAI DG Injeti Srinivas and Star TV Chairman & CEO Uday Shankar.
Sharan mentioned that the government should simplify the procedure for procurement of food supplement so as to enable the sportspersons and the concerned federations to procure them under 'Single Window System' instead of running around various ministries, including Customs, for getting them.
Malhotra mentioned that he had taken up with the Union Minister for HRD for utilisation of 5% of education cess exclusively for sports. He further informed that he had written to Chief Ministers of all states also on this matter.
It was informed that the recommendation of AICS to fill 5% vacancies through sports quota has been accepted by the government and there's need to pursue this with state government to provide employment to sportspersons to encourage budding youngsters to get employment as job security will encourage more people to join sports.
Srinivas said that he had obtained the Sports Acts from various countries, including from USA and UK, which highlighted the need for good governance and transparency in sports administration, which also provides grading of the National Sports Federations for the purpose of providing financial assistance.
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