NEW DELHI: Following the dismal performance at Rio Olympics, the union government enhanced the Budget for sports by 40 % as the sports ministry got a substantial hike of Rs 350 crore in this Budget.
Jaitley allocated a total of Rs 1943 crore, compared to Rs 1592 crore earmarked last year. The sharp rise in the budgetary allocation comes at a time when Indian athletes are preparing for the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games in 2018.
Officials of the sports ministry said that this is because of the initiative and interest of the Prime Minister that he is taking in sports. Funds for promotion of sports among disabled will be done now from the funds allotted from Khelo India Programme and hence only a token amount has been provided.
Besides, contributions have been asked from the Public Sector Undertakings for the National Sports Development Fund so as to enhance the sports activities and promotion of players. A talent search portal is being launched for identification and nurturing of sporting talent in the country.
To start with, a sum of Rs. 50 lakh has been kept for this purpose. Funds have been separately designated for nurturing and developing sports talent.
Officials said that National-level competitions have been organized under the Khelo India Programme so as to initiate a sporting culture in the country. Also, rural games are being planned to be held in the near future.