Under the Scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations during the period of 2017-18 to 2021-22, the Government of India has allocated more than Rs 32 crore to the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur has said.
In a reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Thakur further informed that a sum of Rs 10.50 crore was also spent during the last Paralympic cycle under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) for the para athletes.
“Para sports have been placed in the ‘Priority’ category for financial assistance by the Government and all the requisite assistance is provided for training and competitive exposure of the para athletes, as per the norms laid down for this purpose,” the sports ministry said in a release.
“In addition to the above, an amount of Rs.10.50 crore was spent during the last Paralympic cycle under the TOPS for the para athletes who were medal probable, for the training, Out of Pocket Allowances (OPS), Foreign Exposures, Purchase of Equipment, Sports Science Services etc. The Paralympic athletes are provided all requisite facilities at par with other sportspersons, besides their special needs,” it added.
Significantly, the India parathletes had come up with extraordinary results at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics after bagging a total of 19 medals (5 gold, 8 silver, 6 bronze).
Moreover, it was also informed that for boosting sports participation in the country, including the North Eastern Region and Bhagalpur, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has implemented a number of Schemes aimed at broad-basing of sports and promotion of excellence in sports and said that so far, 453 Khelo India Centres have been notified in 359 districts of 28 States/UTs.
“Under the Khelo India Scheme, 62 sports infrastructure projects of various categories have been sanctioned in the North Eastern Region amounting to 423.01 crore. Further, the National Sports University has been established in Imphal, Manipur to promote sports education in the fields of sports sciences, sports technology, sports management, and sports coaching. In addition, a North Eastern Regional Centre of Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education (LNIPE) is also operational since 2009-10 in Guwahati, Assam,” the Ministry said in a statement.
“Under the Khelo India Scheme of the Ministry, 08 Khelo India State Centres of Excellence and 152 Khelo India Centres have been notified in the North Eastern Region. Further, 20 academies have also been accredited and 02 Army Boys Sports Companies are assisted in the North Eastern Region. A total of 217 Khelo India Athletes have been identified from the North Eastern Region,” it added.