Come at least 4th in sports events, get hike: Govt

NEW DELHI: Never mind if they don’t win a gold, silver or bronze medal. It will still be counted as excellence if government employees get the fourth place in non-athletic events in prestigious sporting championships.

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The government has decided to give employees a pay hike if they reach semi-finals of sporting events in prestigious national and international championships, irrespective of whether they win or lose.

The decision relaxes a 2010 rule that credited a government employee for excelling in sporting events only if they picked up any of the three medals in the finals of sporting events.

There were no problems in implementing this policy for athletic events that are essentially single-event games.

But the policy led to some heartburn among employees who participated in non-athletic events such as hockey where they had to play several events to reach the semi-finals.

On Monday, the department of personnel & training came up with a proposal to fix the anomaly ahead of the Rio Olympics.

In non-athletic sporting events where teams are eliminated if they lose a match at any level, the department said, government employees would be said to have achieved excellence if they reach the semifinals. It would not matter if they lose the semi-final match and come fourth.