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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Agencies
August 1,2020

Bengaluru, Aug 1: Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are aiming to set up their preparatory camp for the 13th edition of the tournament from early August.

This year's IPL was slated to commence from March 29 but the tournament was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Recently, the IPL Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel had confirmed that the 13th edition of the mega event will commence on September 19 in the UAE.

As per a report in ESPNcricinfo, CSK players have been asked to report to Chennai first, following which they will leave for Dubai via a charter flight only after approval from the Indian government.

The IPL Governing Council will meet on August 2 to finalise the schedule and other key arrangements for the tournament. Also, the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) around securing eight teams for 51 days across three venues will be formally established in that meeting.

CSK, who has the oldest squad in the IPL, are looking for a month's preparation before ahead of the tournament.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the side was the first team to start their training camp in March. Senior players like Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu had begun training their training in December 2019.

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Agencies
June 7,2020

Mumbai, Jun 7: The Mumbai airport became home for a 23-year-old Ghanaian footballer for 74 days after he got stranded there due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown that led to cancellation of flights.

The ordeal of Randy Juan Muller reminded people of Tom Hank's character in the Hollywood film "The Terminal", and it ended after Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the Shiv Sena, reached out to help him.

Muller has now shifted to a local hotel and is waiting for airlines to resume operations so that he can fly home.

The Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) also provided him all help, including food, and allowed him to use the airport WiFi network to make calls, an official said.

Muller, a Ghana national who used to play for a club in Kerala, was scheduled to fly home by Kenya Airways flight when the lockdown was announced and he found himself stranded at the Mumbai airport.

"He would spend his time at the airport's fancy artificial gardens and somehow buy food from stalls and pass his time with the airport staff. Muller told me the airport staff was very helpful," Yuva Sena office-bearer Rahul Kanal said.

A security officer at the airport gave him mobile phone to call his family back home.

A Twitter user brought Muller's plight to the notice of Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray following which Kanal reached out to the footballer and helped him move into a hotel.

On Saturday, Muller thanked Thackeray and Kanal for their help.

"Thank you Aaditya Thackeray, Rahul Kanal. Thank you very very so much. I appreciate what you have done. Salute," he said.

Kanal in a tweet said when he met Muller at the airport, the latter cried with happiness.

"Have no words to salute his willpower and fight for survival in such circumstances at this age," Kanal said.

An official at the Mumbai International Airport Ltd said the footballer was provided all help.

"All personnel at the airport, including from MIAL and CISF, gave him every possible help during his stay at the airport. Besides food, he was also allowed to use the airport WiFi network to make calls. Airport staff would recharge his phone at their own expense," the official said.

The 2004 film "Terminal" of Steven Spielberg was about a man stranded at a US airport after being denied entry into the country and a military coup back home.

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News Network
April 7,2020

Bengaluru, April 7: India batsman Robin Uthappa has said that he reckons he still has a World Cup left in him, despite being out of the team for than four years.

Uthappa had last played a match for the Men in Blue in 2015 on the tour of Zimbabwe.

"Right now I want to be competitive. I still have that fire burning in me, I really want to compete and do well. I honestly believe I have a World Cup left in me, so I'm pursuing that, especially the shortest format. 

The blessings of lady luck or god or whatever you call it, plays a massive factor," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Uthappa as saying.

"Especially in India, it becomes so much more evident. I don't think it is as evident when you're playing cricket outside of India. But in the subcontinent and India especially, with the amount of talent that we do have in our country, all of those aspects become evident," he added.

The 34-year-old Uthappa has played 46 ODIs and 13 T20Is for India and he was also a part of the T20 World Cup-winning squad in 2007.

Uthappa has scored 934 runs in ODIs at an average of 25.94, while in T20Is his numbers are 249 runs at an average of 24.90.

"You can never write yourself off. You would be unfair to yourself if you write yourself off.

Especially if you believe you have the ability and you know that there is an outside chance. So I still believe in that outside chance," Uthappa said.

"I still believe that things can go my way and I probably can be a part of a World Cup-winning team and play an integral role in that as well.

Those dreams are still alive and I think I'll keep playing cricket till that is alive," he added.

Uthappa had enjoyed great success with IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders. He went on to become their leading run-scorer in the 2014 edition.

However, he was released by the side after a below-par 2019 season, and last November he was picked up by the Rajasthan Royals for the 2020 edition.

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