Elite athletes preparing for Tokyo Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games will receive a stipend of Rs 50,000 per month to meet their pocket expenses, sports minister Rajyavardhan Rathore announced on Friday, PTI reported.

Rathore’s announcement meant that the sports ministry has accepted the recommendation of the Olympic Task Force, headed by Abhinav Bindra, in this regard.

The government has selected 152 elite athletes under the Target Olympic Podium scheme. All the athletes will get benefit from this decision. The stipend will be paid with effect from September 1.

“MYAS @IndiaSports announces Rs 50k/month pocket allowance for 152 elite athletes preparing for Tokyo/CWG/Asian Games. Athletes first, always!” Rathore wrote on the official Twitter handle.

“The allowance applies wef 1 Sep 2017 & is purely for pocket expenses of elite athletes. Committed to providing all resources to our champions.”

The sports ministry will get in touch with all the athletes selected under the TOP scheme to get training and competition exposure plan and any further assistance required for preparation of the prestigious competitions.