The Sports Ministry got a significant budget hike for the year 2017-’18 in the wake of India’s paltry return in the Rio Olympics, and keeping an eye on the Commonwealth and Asian Games in 2018, reported PTI.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley allocated the Sports Ministry a total of Rs 1,943 crore, which is Rs 351 crore more than the Rs 1,592 crore that it received last year. However, despite earning four medals at the Rio Paralympics, the budget for promoting sport among the disabled has reduced drastically: It was reduced to only Rs 1 lakh compared to Rs 4 crore that was allocated last year. Sports in Jammu and Kashmir will get Rs 75 lakh, the same amount that was earmarked last year too.
National sports federations have also been provided with a fillip, as they were allocated Rs 302 crore compared toRs 185 crore last year. The Sports Authority of India, which organises national camps, was granted Rs 481 crore, a Rs 65 crore boost from last year. The Benefit of North Eastern Area scheme will be distributed Rs 148.4 crore compared to the Rs 131.33 of 2015-’16.
A 10-member Target Olympic Podium committee to handpick medal prospects and offer them world-class training facilities may have been shortlisted, but a mere Rs 50 lakh was set aside to identify and nurture sports talent in the country.