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Sports Ministry asks federations to provide five-year roadmap
With National Sports Governance Bill set to be tabled in Parliament, Sports Ministry discusses India’s medal strategy for 2036 Olympics
New Delhi: The Sports Ministry has asked the National Sports Federations to prepare a five-year development plan and announce three good governance initiatives. These are part of a series of measures the Sports Ministry discussed with federations and other stakeholders during the one-day Khelo Bharat Conclave here on Thursday.
The Sports Ministry also plans to set up task forces to develop homegrown coaches and administrators. With an eye on India’s bid for the 2036 Olympics and improving the country’s performance at the mega event, the government is looking to reshape India’s sporting landscape.
The National Sports Governance Bill is being tabled in Parliament during the upcoming monsoon session to usher in reforms in sports governance. The Union Cabinet has approved the Khelo Bharat Niti (National Sports Policy) -- a strategic roadmap to establish India as a global sporting powerhouse and a strong contender at international sporting events.
On Thursday, the Sports Ministry held discussions with various stakeholders at the Khelo Bharat Conclave, brainstorming on an action plan to take Indian sport forward. Discussions were held on the upcoming bill, developing pathways for athletes from grassroots to elite level, raising homegrown coaches, infrastructure development, involving corporate houses to boost sports and how to control the menace of doping.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya opened the summit and spoke about the government’s resolve to make sports a public movement.
“If all stakeholders can move forward with united effort, we can take Indian sports forward. I urge the NSFs to provide a five-year policy by August and then we can develop a 10-year roadmap on how to take India to the top-10 in medal tally in the world,” he said.
Sports Secretary Hari Ranjan Rao said the Ministry is going to set up three task forces as per its newly introduced Khelo Bharat Niti.
“The task forces will be on how to improve the quality and capacity of coaches, on creating a good pool of administrators. and on sports goods manufacturing,” he said.
He also asked each federation to announce three ‘good governance initiatives’ on August 29, which is also celebrated as National Sports Day.
The Ministry said the federations should finalise their selection policies for the Asian Games by August 29. “The Asian Games is not far off, and we would want all federations to finalise their selection strategies by August 29 so that we have a full one year to prepare for the mega event,” said Rao.
The Asian Games will be in Aichi-Nagoya from September 19 next year.
Each federation will also have to submit a five-year development plan by August.
NSFs now need to fill the Annual Calendar for Training and Competition (ACTC) online by October 1 so that it can be reviewed and cleared in a timely manner.
Consultation with IOC, IFs on Draft Sports Bill
Mandaviya said he has held a wide range of consultations with various stakeholders before drafting the National Sports Governance Bill, which aims to bring reforms in sports administration.
“Earlier governments have worked on bringing a sports bill. Twice it came to Cabinet, once it came to Parliament, but it was not passed. Why? We studied everything in detail and spoke to people who made efforts to bring a sports bill together, irrespective of which political party was in government at that time. I spoke to everyone. Ajay Maken had made a good attempt. I spoke to him as well,” said Mandaviya.
“I held a series of stakeholder consultations to draft this bill — athletes, coaches, NSFs, sports lawyers, and studied all the suggestions from the public (600) on the draft.
“We consulted the International Olympic Committee, international federations. There was a query from FIFA. I specially sent an officer to FIFA headquarters to discuss with them. Only after holding such wide discussions and consultations are we ready with the bill and going to introduce it in the upcoming session of Parliament,” he said.
