Rs 214 cr hike in sports budget

March 1, 2013

sports_budget

New Delhi, Mar 1: A hike of Rs 214 crore was allocated to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports with Finance Minister P Chidambaram earmarking Rs 1219 crore for it in the 2013-14 budget presented in Parliament on Thursday.

Chidambaram allocated Rs 1093 crore as plan outlay while Rs 126 crore was set aside for non-plan. Last year, the Ministry was allocated a total of Rs 1152 crore but it was later revised to 1005.60 crore.

In a bid to improve the sports standard in the country, the National Institute for Sports in Patiala will train coaches and an amount of Rs 250 crore has been earmarked for the purpose.

Out of the total outlay, Rs 792.72 crore has been allocated for sports and games while Rs 301 crore has been set aside for Youth Welfare Schemes. Other programmes, including Schemes for the Benefit of North Eastern Area and Sikkim, will get Rs 109.40 crore.

Under the sports and games head, Sports Authority of India will get the highest amount of Rs 326 crore while Rs 160 crore has been earmarked for Assistance to National Sports Federations — as against Rs 110 crore of last year. An amount of Rs 10 crore has been earmarked for talent search and training scheme, while Rs 8.30 crore has been allocated for Anti-Doping Activities as compared to 4 crore last year. National Dope Test Laboratory will get Rs 5.70 crore, representing a significant hike compared to 2.50 crore last year.

The various schemes under Panchayat Yuva Krida aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA) will get Rs 180 crore, Rs 35 crore less than last year, while Rs 45 crore has been earmarked for Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme.

The National Sports Development Fund has been allocated Rs five crore, the same as last year.

Among the various heads of Youth Welfare Schemes, Rs 127.48 crore has been earmarked for Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan while the National Service Scheme will get Rs 76.31 crore — about 3 crore less than last year.

Laxmi Bai National Institute of Physical Education has been allotted Rs 20 crore, Rs five crore more than last year, while Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development has been allocated Rs 2 crore. Meanwhile, the Sports Ministry has welcomed the increase in the budget.

“We are very satisfied about the extent of plan budget increase. It is close to 50 per cent and given the extreme fiscal stress, the Finance Minister has been very generous,” said Sports Secretary Pradeep Kumar Deb.

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News Network
April 2,2020

New Delhi, Apr 2: BJP MP and former cricketer Gautam Gambhir on Thursday said that he will donate his two year's salary to PM-CARES Fund to support the battle against coronavirus pandemic in the country.

"People ask what can their country do for them. The real question is what can you do for your country? I am donating my 2 year's salary to #PMCaresFund. You should come forward too! @narendramodi @JPNadda @BJP4Delhi #IndiaFightsCorona," Gambhir tweeted.

The total number of coronavirus cases in India climbed to 1965 on Thursday after 131 people confirmed positive in the past 12 hours, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

At present, there are 1764 COVID-19 active cases in the country and 50 people have died due to the lethal infection.

Interestingly, on this day in 2011, India lifted its second World Cup title after a drought of 28 years. Gambhir played a crucial role in the final and anchored the run-chase.

India won its first World Cup in 1983 under the leadership of former all-rounder Kapil Dev. 

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Agencies
August 6,2020

New Delhi, Aug 6: The BCCI on Thursday suspended the IPL title sponsorship deal with Chinese mobile phone company Vivo for the event's upcoming edition amid heightened tensions in Sino-India diplomatic ties.

The BCCI sent out a one-line statement, without giving details, saying that Vivo would not be associated with the IPL this year. "The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and vivo Mobile India Pvt Ltd have decided to suspend their partnership for Indian Premier League in 2020," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Vivo released its own statement saying that the two entities "have mutually decided to pause their partnership for the 2020 season".

Vivo won the IPL title sponsorship rights for five years from 2018 to 2022 for a reported sum of Rs 2,190 crore, approximately Rs 440 crore per annum.

The two parties are now working out a plan in which Vivo might come back for a fresh three-year period starting 2021 on revised terms.

However, a top BCCI official offered a different view. "Here we are talking about diplomatic tensions and you expect that after November, when IPL ends and before the next IPL starts in April 2021, there would be no anti-China sentiment? Are we serious?" a veteran BCCI official said on conditions of anonymity.

The anti-China sentiment in the country peaked after the violent face-off between the Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh. India lost 20 soldiers in the clash, while China also acknowledged unspecified casualties.

The stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) caused outrage across India with several calls for boycotts of Chinese companies and products.

The BCCI is now likely to float a tender for new IPL title sponsors as mandated by its constitution. The glitzy T20 league starts on Sept. 19 in the UAE, forced out of India due to the rising COVID-19 cases.

The new development is in stark contrast to what came out of Sunday's IPL's Governing Council meeting, where it was decided that Vivo, along with all the other sponsors, will remain on board.

This was after the BCCI had announced in June that all sponsorship deals pertaining to IPL will be reviewed in the aftermath of the clash in the Galwan Valley.

However, after Sunday's meeting, there was a huge backlash on social media about the BCCI holding on to Vivo.

Both parties then began thrashing out an amicable separation plan, at least for this season.

However, the end of this deal could spell losses for the franchises as they get a substantial share from the sponsorship pool. Half of the annual Vivo sponsorship money is distributed equally among eight franchises, which comes to Rs 27.5 crore.

"As of now, it will be very difficult for the BCCI to match the sponsorship amount at such short notice. Therefore, both BCCI and the franchises should be prepared to lose out on some money -- BCCI more but each franchise from Vivo's exit will potentially lose 15 crore," the official said.

"This year will be difficult for everyone but the show must go on," the official said.

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Agencies
January 5,2020

Mumbai, Jan 5: All-rounder Irfan Pathan on Saturday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, ending an injury-ridden career that prevented him from realising his true potential.

The 35-year-old's retirement was on expected lines, considering he last played a competitive game in February 2019 during the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy for Jammu and Kashmir.

He did not even put himself in the IPL auction pool, last month.

The left-arm seamer's bowling was like a breath of fresh air when he made his India debut against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in 2003.

He never had express pace but his natural ability to swing the ball into the right-handers got him instant success, also drawing comparisons with the great Kapil Dev.

It seemed India had found the all-rounder they were looking for since Kapil left the scene. Pathan, who last played for India in October 2012, featured in 29 Tests (1105 runs and 100 wickets), 120 ODIs (1544 runs and 173 wickets) and 24 T20 Internationals (172 runs and 28 wickets).

He was part of the victorious Indian team at the 2007 World Twenty20 and was the man-of-the-match in the final against Pakistan.

One of his best performances came on the tour of Pakistan in 2006 when he became the second Indian after Harbhajan Singh to take a Test hat-trick, removing Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yusuf during the Karachi game.

He also played a big role in India winning a Test match against Australia on a tough Perth wicket, which offered steep bounce.

Injuries and lack of form troubled him thereafter and his ability to swing the ball deteriorated.

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