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Abhinav's coffers continue to swell
India its first-ever individual gold medal in Olympics, rifle shooter Abhinav Bindra's coffers continued to swell as cash rewards to the tune of Rs two crore poured in, taking his total prize money to almost Rs 4 crore in two days. See Pics
Having gifted India its first-ever individual gold medal in Olympics, rifle shooter Abhinav Bindra's coffers continued to swell as cash rewards to the tune of Rs two crore poured in on Tuesday, taking his total prize money to almost Rs 4 crore in two days.
The highest contributor today was steel tycoon Laxmi Niwas Mittal who announced Rs 1.5 crore from his London-based Mittal Champions Trust followed by the Sports Ministry, which chipped in with Rs 30 lakh for Bindra.
The Steel Ministry also came up with an Rs 15 lakh reward and even a small sports body like Netball Federation of India joined the rush to be associated with Bindra by announcing Rs 2.51 lakh.
Not only Bindra, other Indian athletes who win a medal in Beijing can look forward to cash incentives from three public sector undertakings -- Steel Authority of India, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd and National Mineral Development Corporation.
Those winning gold medal will be given Rs 15 lakh, silver winners will get Rs 10 lash and bronze winners Rs 5 lakh.
Bindra, the entrepreneur son of an affluent businessman in Punjab, had on Monday earned cash prizes of over Rs two crore and lifetime free rail travel.
