CHENNAI: Soon, athletes can claim cash awards after winning medals at major international meets through SMS and WhatsApp. In a novel gesture, the sports ministry is on the verge of working out a method through which this can be applicable and cash awards claimed without much paperwork. The ministry believes since the results are instantaneous and available on websites and social media, cash awards, too, should be delivered quickly.
After P V Sindhu’s gold medal at the World Championships, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju wanted to introduce a system to hand over monetary rewards as soon as players land in India, instead of waiting for days or months. Ways to implement this and other modalities have been worked out and a policy decision, at the behest of the minister, has been taken.
The idea behind this is that sportspersons need not wait or do too much paperwork to claim their rewards. Sports secretary R S Julaniya confirmed that a policy decision was taken after it was discussed with the minister. “The idea is to give the cash awards within one working day,” he said. These can be delivered at a simple ceremony or over a cup of coffee on athletes’ arrival. This newspaper reported last month that a policy decision to quickly disburse cash awards would be taken soon.
The interesting part, however, would be the introduction of SMS and WhatsApp system through which athletes can claim their awards. The athletes’ competitions and tours are anyway sanctioned by the ministry. The only condition is the competition needs to fit in their criteria. As and when their competitions are over, the athletes can SMS or WhatsApp them their result. “Technical aspects need to be worked out for integration,” said Julaniya.