Facilities to Hockey Players

  New Delhi:(Page3 News Network)-The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs & Sports Shri Jitendra Singh has said that the primary responsibility for the development and promotion of a sports disciplines rests with the concerned recognized National Sports Federation (NSF). Government only supplements the efforts of the NSFs by providing financial assistance for procurement of equipment and consumables, holding national/international sports events in India, participation of sportspersons/teams in international sports events abroad and training/coaching of national level sportspersons/teams through Indian and foreign coaches, as per agreed Long Term Development Plans (LTDPs) with the NSFs.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today Shri Jitendra Singh said, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) is implementing the following Schemes for identification and nurturing of talented sportspersons including hockey players:

(i) National Sports Talent Contest (NSTC) Scheme,

(ii) Army Boys’ Sports Companies (ABSC) Scheme,

(iii) SAI Training Centers (STC) Scheme,

(iv) Special Area Games (SAG) Scheme,

(v) Centres of Excellence (CoE) Scheme.

The Minister said, there is no provision in the Scheme of Assistance to the NSFs, for payment of prize money, remuneration, allowances, etc. to players of any sports discipline for the national championships. For the international events, allowances for diet, supplements, sports kits, etc. are paid to the players through the respective NSF. No case of non-payment of remuneration, allowances, prize money etc. to the hockey players has been brought to the notice of the Government.