New Delhi, June 20: In a first for Indian hockey players, the sports ministry has approved an out of pocket allowance of Rs 25,000 per month for those picked in the national camp of both men and women after repeated requests from the sport’s governing body.
Eighty players (40 men and 40 women) will benefit from the allowance which is given to athletes in the developmental group of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme. The decision was taken at the Mission Olympic Cell’s monthly meeting here on Thursday.
The allowance would cost the government Rs 20 lakh per month. The core group athletes are entitled to Rs 50,000 per month.
“The allowance was being requested for by Hockey India for some time and we have decided to accept the demand. The players have performed reasonably well and it is on merit,” Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya told reporters in an informal interaction here.
Hockey India will have to submit a list of players every month for disbursement of the funds.
“The list would take into account form and fitness and names might change depending on these two factors,” a sports ministry source stated.
Currently, the hockey players draw salaries from the departments and organisations that they are employed with even though a proposal to have a graded contract system by Hockey India has been in the deliberation stage for past few years.
Their other source of income is the prize money for strong international performances in showpieces like the Olympics and the Asian Games among others.
The men’s team has won two back-to-back bronze medals in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and the subsequent Paris Games last year. The women’s side finished fourth in Tokyo but failed to qualify for the Paris showpiece.
Both the teams are currently competing in the FIH Pro League’s European leg where the results have not been particularly encouraging so far.
Proposals worth Rs 4.28 crore approved
The MOC also approved financial proposals to the tune of Rs 4.28 crore during the meeting.
A major chunk of the funds – Rs 1.38 crore – will be going to tennis players like Saketh Myneni, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and three women players.
“Several proposals for assistance from para-athletes were also approved. And a few additions were made to the TOPS developmental group. The core group, for now, remains the same,” a Sports Authority of India (SAI) official said.
Talent Identification goes digital
The ministry has decided to strengthen its talent identification process with an app that would allow talented youngsters to upload their performances for assessment by regional talent identification panels of the SAI.
“If found good in first glance, the youngster would be called to Khelo India Regional Centres where their potential would be assessed. This would widen our talent identification mechanism, which is right now limited to age group competitions,” Mandaviya said.
“It would ensure that we can reach the remotest corners of the country and find a promising athlete. This is all a part of the National Sports Repository System,” he added. (PTI)
