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The Indian Badminton fraternity received a boost with Department of Sports, the Sports Ministry, the Indian government and the India Infrastructure Finance Company (IIFCL), a company under Ministry of Finance, signing a Memorandum of understanding (MoU). Under the terms of this MoU, the IIFCL will donate Rs. 30 crore over a period of three years (Rs. 10. crore per year) towards badminton.
The money is being donated to the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOP Scheme) under IIFCL’s initiatives for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). IIFCL donated Rs. 10 crore for the first year on the 31st of March, 2015 to the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF).
The activities that will be carried out by utilising the donated amount to improve the infrastructure for badminton in India are:
- Provision of world-class equipment to TOP scheme athletes.
- To aid the badminton fraternity in India in appointing high-quality support staff including physiotherapists and sport psychologists.
- Provision of appropriate support, medical, nutritional and physioogical, to TOP scheme athletes during the term.
The NSDF was established by the Sports Ministry with the vision of promoting sports, and individual sportspersons in a bid to achieve excellence at the national and international levels.
The TOP scheme falls under the ambit of the NSDF.
TOP scheme was envisioned by the Sports Ministry to identify and nurture potential athletes capable of helping India win medals at the Olympic games. To that extent, the Sports Ministry is seeking investments from companies in both the private and public sectors under their CSR initiatives.
