Govt Policies & Interventions

KEY POINTS

Arguments in favour

·         A nation doesn’t become a sporting nation overnight. There are more people watching and more and more children playing.

·         More importantly, there has been a major cultural change in our basic belief system.

·         Athletes no longer feel as though they are inferior to their international counterparts, and that is probably the most heartening aspect of Indian sport.

·         More and more parents started to have faith that sports can provide the platform for a healthy and decent future and are encouraging their children to play and seek a career in sports.

·         Our boys and girls are constantly improving their personal bests and are very motivated.  

·         India is begun to offer competition in games which are not big at home.

·         There are several Indian athletes now who are in the forefront of various disciplines.

Arguments against

·         India’s progress in joining the elite sports powers in the world has been excruciatingly slow.

·         Over the last decade, India has won more medals than the previous four decades put together.

·         But, international medals are not the best parameter to decide whether a country as a sporting nation or not.

·         A sporting nation is one that has sustainable systems, societal interest in sport, which links sport and entertainment, which has large numbers across disciplines, both amateur and professional.

·         There are several Indian athletes now who are in the forefront of various disciplines, but a critical factor on the assessment of the health of a sport is to measure how many players are waiting in the pipeline to knock him/her off that perch. The bench strength is weak.

Government support

·         In India, the Union Budget for 2018-19 provided 2196.35 crore for sports, out of which 520.09 crore went to Khelo India, the government’s flagship programme to unearth talent.

·         The Sports Authority of India’s budget was cut by 66 crore, thereby curtailing its freedom to be liberal with proposals from national sports federations.

·         Our management systems of sport are archaic. The certifying authority in India for nurturing coaches and trainers, the National Institute of Sports, Patiala, has an outdated curriculum.

·         Our national federations still struggle to take their various disciplines to the masses.

·         They have monumentally failed in creating an overall interest in the sport because they do not plan, let alone think, long term outside the proverbial box for the growth of the sport.

·         But, if one sees the size of the country, the facilities provided by the government are second to none.

·         There is a need to concentrate on creating new infrastructure facilities and providing adequate foreign exposure to our front-line sportspersons. 

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