NEW DELHI: The Delhi government is in the process of rolling out a policy that aims to provide Group ‘A’ jobs to sportspersons who win medals in international events, besides rewarding them with a cash prize of Rs 7 crore, Minister for Home, Education, Power and Urban Development Ashish Sood said on Wednesday. Sincere efforts are afoot to ensure the best possible facilities for these athletes, he added.
Speaking at the 26th edition of the ‘Delhi Dialogues’ programme hosted by TMS, the Minister said, “Since the Delhi government only offers jobs in the Group ‘B’ and Group ‘C’ categories, we have approached the Centre and the Union Public Service Commission to consider our proposal, which recently got the state cabinet’s approval.”
He said that sportspersons trained with state-provided facilities, after winning medals, shift to neighbouring states, where they are offered Group ‘A’ jobs.
The government has already approved rewards for medallists, as those winning gold medals will now be given Rs 7 crore, silver medallists Rs 5 crore and those winning bronze Rs 3 crore will be granted. Earlier, Olympic and Paralympic medal winners were awarded Rs 3 crore, Rs 2 crore and Rs 1 crore, respectively, for winning Gold, Silver, and Bronze.