A slightly altered Sports Bill may be tabled in the Budget session of Parliament, with the age and tenure limits for holding posts in federations and Olympic bodies set to be watered down.
Sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that though there was widespread agreement on most provisions of the bill, there were some reservations about the restrictions which hamper Indians’ prospects of landing top posts in world bodies.
“We are trying to introduce the bill in the Budget session. There are some clauses in the 70-year age provision which we need to consider. For example on the international platform, a person like Randhir Singh needed 50 years to build his rapport. He worked for all these years and has now become the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) president,” the minister said in an interaction with the media on Wednesday.
As per the Sports Code in application right now, a National Sports Federation (NSF) chief can serve a maximum of 12 years, or three terms of four years each. Besides, the president, secretary and treasurer cease to hold post on attaining the age of 70 years.
“If I don’t consider that, no one from India can contribute to international sport. So, I have kept that window open. Whoever is on an international platform, the 70-year rule doesn’t apply on him or her,” Mandaviya added.
Sports data bank
Sportspersons having to run from pillar to post for certificates for participation or winning medals in national and international competitions is not uncommon in the Indian milieu. It affects athletes looking to avail cash awards, government jobs and other schemes. The National Sports Repository System (NSRS), still in a developmental stage, aims to create an all-in-one database of athletes, coaches and academies that can be referred to for various purposes.
On its website, NSRS is described as “a digital MIS, which envisages to provide a comprehensive digital solution for all major stakeholders such as athletes, coaches, sports scientists, sports training centers, federations and administrators. It is an open platform of sports eco-system where athletes, coaches and academies can register themselves.”
The initiative, which will take a few more months before it becomes fully operational, can bring some efficiency and transparency in athletes’ dealings with the government and its various agencies, Mandaviya said. The system will help in unearthing talents from the grass-root level and help them stay in sport by making incentives and awards – in the form of jobs and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBS) easier to disburse, he hoped.
“NSRS is the way to go. We can’t let athletes suffer. The platform will be used for talent identification… every athlete’s detail will be there. If someone has won a medal at the Asian Games or the Olympics, he or she doesn’t have to approach the respective NSF for certification for any job or anything. The certificate will be generated automatically from NSRS,” Mandaviya said.
As per the present custom, athletes have to rely on their respective national federations to put forth their names for awards such as the Arjuna and Khel Ratna, or have to do so themselves. The sports minister said the new system may make that practice redundant, as NSRS will have their basic details, achievements, training history and other relevant information. It will also apply to coaches, academies, universities and various other institutions involved in sporting activities.
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