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What's the story
Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore believes that India has the potential to produce "100 Usain Bolts". The former Olympian announced that he was introducing an extensive sports policy, as he shared a few details under the Kehlo India programme. The aim is to turn around India’s sports culture.
In case you didn't know
Rathore won a silver medal in the double trap event at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. He retired from the Indian Army and joined politics in 2013 with BJP. On 3rd September 2017, he was sworn in as the Union Sports Minister.
The heart of the matter
At the Madhya Pradesh Government's sports award function in Bhopal, he pitched the idea of introducing a few changes in the country's sports policy. This is inclusive of the national school games, scheduled to start on January 31 and is set to run till February 8. These school games will act as a springboard for raw young sporting talents.
Rathore said that only the top 1,000 athletes from this event will be entitled to Rs 5 lakh scholarships for eight years. He also said that every year, they will keep adding 1,000 more athletes. The Government has allocated Rs 250 crore to address the sponsorship woes for sportspersons. Another idea is to develop an app to record the database of all the coaches in the country. This app will also ensure remunerations in accordance with their potential.
What's next?
The Central Government is currently debating over the fixation of the sports quota in government departments. Rathore has urged Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to do the same. The Khelo India policy will actively invest in sporting talents.
Sportskeeda's take
It is great to see that the Sports Authority of India is undergoing a reform. There is a dire need for a more efficient sports body to ensure efficient functioning. It is also set to cut down its size to 50% by 2022-23. Rathore also backed the coaches’ role in the department's policymaking.
