AICS seeks more funds for sports

New Delhi, Sep 10 (IANS) All India Council of Sports (AICS) president Vijay Kumar Malhotra on Saturday urged the government to increase the sports budget for the preparation for upcoming international competitions.

Malhotra also said he will take an AICS delegation to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to seek more funds for sports -- at least Rs 100 per capita that is around Rs 12,500 crore.

"In view of the Prime Minister's ambitious programme to prepare the sportspersons for the next 12 years which will cover three Olympic games, 2020 to 2028, there is an urgent need to recognise sports as a priority sector and for that a big annual financial allocation is required," the AICS president said.

Apart from batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, former football captain Bhaichung Bhutia, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president N.Ramachandran, the third meeting of AICS on Saturday was also attended by G.S.Shekhawat, B.P.Baishya, Viduspat Singhania, Sachin Sinha, Sports Authority of India (SAI) Director General Injeti Srinivas, Navin Agarwal, Rakesh Gupta and S. Reghunathan.

--IANS

gau/pur/bg