BOTH athletes and coaches will see a considerable hike in their dietary allocations and salaries respectively with the sports ministry revising the Scheme of Assistance to the national sports federations on Thursday.
Under the revised norms, diet charges for senior sportspersons in national camps have been increased from Rs 690 to Rs 1000 per day per athlete. For juniors, it has been increased from Rs 480 to Rs 850 per day per athlete.
Besides, the ministry has also made a provision for the additional diet allowances for certain sports disciplines where it is felt that the diet charges are not sufficient to meet the energy requirements of the athletes for heavy and middleweight power events endurance, sprints, low weight power events, and skill events. Not only this, a dietary allowance of Rs 10,000 per month to each of the probable group athlete will be paid for non-camp days, so that these athletes are not deprived of proper diet during non-camp days.
In its bid to attract top coaches for various disciplines, the ministry has also decided to hike their salaries by 50 per cent. As per the revision, the chief national coach, who used to receive Rs 5 lakh per month, will now get Rs 7.5 lakh per month. For other coaches, it has been increased from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh monthly.
The revision follows the commencement of a new Olympic Cycle post-Paris Olympics 2024, reflecting India’s aspirations to host the 2036 Olympic Games and addressing emerging challenges. It also considered increased costs due to inflation in training, infrastructure development, equipment procurement, and athlete welfare. The last revision was done in February 2022. The fresh norms mean financial assistance for conducting national championship of a high priority sport has been enhanced to Rs 90 lakh. For the priority sport, it has been increased to Rs 75 lakh.
According to the ministry, these reforms aim to build a robust, accountable, and performance-driven sports ecosystem, ensuring alignment with India’s long-term goal of becoming a global sporting powerhouse and eventual host of the 2036 Olympic Games.
Similarly, financial assistance for hosting international tournaments in India doubled to ₹2 crore. However, the NSFs have been asked to adhere to the guidelines issued in this regard. They have to earmark at least 20 per cent of their annual budget for grassroots development, channeled through affiliate units for junior/youth development.
The NSFs of high priority and priority sports disciplines shall identify a probable group of athletes in two categories of senior group and junior group with high performance potential. These athletes will be trained at accredited academies, selected by NSFs through a fair and transparent process. The training programme delivered at these accredited academies for a particular sport will be monitored by the High Performance Director of the respective sport.
All NSFs also need to have a coaching education expert dedicated for training of trainers. The NSFs with an annual budget of Rs 10 crore and above have to mandatorily appoint an HPD, who in turn will design and monitor the sport’s technical development programme.
The federations can also engage administrative manpower and up to 10% of funding can be used for appointing CEO/director, managers (finance, competition, coach development, IT, legal), office assistants, interns, etc.
KEY REFORMS
Financial Assistance
Financial assistance for conduct of national championships increased to Rs 90 lakh for high priority sports and Rs 75 lakh for priority sports (Up from the previous limit of ₹51 lakh)
Financial assistance for hosting international tournaments in India doubled to Rs 2 crore.
Salary Hikes for Coaches
Chief National Coach: from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7.5 lakh per month
Other Coaches: from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh per month
Diet Charges increased
Senior athletes: from Rs 690 to Rs 1000 per day per athlete
Junior athletes: from Rs 480 to Rs 850 per day per athlete
Focus on Grassroots and Athlete Development
NSFs must earmark at least 20% of their annual budget for grassroots development, channeled through affiliate units for junior/youth development.
Coach Development and Capacity Building
At least 10% of Scheme funds will be allocated for coach and technical staff development, conduct of training courses in India, courses for Indian personnel abroad, development of coaching curriculum, conduct of conferences, seminars, workshops, inviting Foreign/Indian experts for conduct of workshops/courses and conduct of national and international certification courses.
Governance and High Performance Structure
NSFs with an annual budget of Rs 10 crore and above must mandatorily appoint a High Performance Director (HPD), who in turn will design and monitor the sport’s technical development programme.
