NEW DELHi: Confident of measuring up to the revamped Olympic host selection process of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), first-time bidders India would be reaching out to the IOC through "various channels" to build their case.
India, in 2024, submitted the letter of intent to host the 2036 Games in Ahmedabad. The host selection process was then put on hold in 2025 by new IOC president Kirsty Coventry, who formed a working group to reassess the entire mechanism.
Earlier this month, the new host selection process was unveiled and approved by an IOC session. The host of the 2036 Games will be known in mid-2029 and India's negotiations will be led by the Indian Olympic Association in collaboration with the Gujarat government.
"We cannot reach out to IOC members individually at a governmental level but there are various other channels through which we can start building our case," said a well-placed source without elaborating any further.
The IOC has added a Strategic Dialogue phase in between the Continuous Dialogue and the final Targetted Dialogue with interested parties. During the Strategic Dialogue phase the candidate nations will have to provide "core financial guarantees" among other requirements.
The candidate cities will also have to meet the criteria related to cost control, and clear time-lines for completion of project milestones among other aspects. India is currently in the Continuous Dialogue stage.
Under the new process, Interested Parties from the Continuous Dialogue pool will enter Strategic Dialogue in 2027. India faces its biggest competition from Qatar while bids are also expected from Turkey and South Africa.
The Future Host Commission will also make site visits to the proposed host cities. After the Strategic Dialogue phase, the Targetted Dialogue will begin in 2028.
At the end of the Targetted Dialogue, the IOC Members will receive a report from the Future Host Commission. Following this, in mid-2029, the IOC Executive Board will select Preferred Hosts to be "put forward for election by the IOC Session to become the host of the 2036 Olympic Games."
Amended Anti-Doping Bill in monsoon session
The amended National Anti-Doping Bill to criminalise trafficking and distribution of prohibited substances to athletes with a jail term of up to five years is set to be tabled in the upcoming Monsoon Session of the Parliament.
The public consultation, for which the amended bill was posted online till June 18, has been completed. The Monsoon session of the Parliament begins on July 20.
"Efforts would be made to table it in the Parliament during the upcoming session," the ministry source said.
The amendments would ensure that even medical practitioners are targetted if they knowingly prescribe banned drugs.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has repeatedly stated that criminalising organised supply of banned drugs is a necessity.
India has topped the WADA's global list of dope offenders for the past three years.
The new amendment is similar to the one that was proposed back in 2018. At that time, a jail term of four years and a fine of Rs two lakh was sought for organised crime syndicates and anyone who was found guilty of supplying banned substances to athletes.
However, the landmark provisions were scrapped from the bill that was eventually passed in 2022 and amended last year as the government sided with the idea of a "preventive legislation, rather than a criminal legislation."