Government to stop direct funding for TOPS athletes

What's the Story?

The Sports Ministry has authorised the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the federations, which are the members of the 'Mission Olympic Cell' (MOC), to deal with the funding given to athletes. The decisions regarding releasing funds to athletes comes under the Target Olympic Podium scheme which has been revised recently. The ministry has decided to "immediately" stop the practice of releasing direct payments to sportspersons part of the TOP scheme.

This funding includes training, equipment and foreign exposure required by sportspersons as a part of their preparations.

In case you didn't know...

Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra was appointed the head of the TOP committee earlier this year. The two other sportspersons in the 10-member panel are shooter Anjali Bhagwat and woman weightlifter Karnam Malleswari.

Heart of the Matter

The primary reason behind this move is to curb red-tapism. There has been a misappropriation of funds previously by athletes as well as the bureaucrats. There have been conflicting reactions over the decision. While some athletes have slammed the SAI, others have welcomed the decision.

Instead of the disbursing the funds directly to the athletes, SAI would make the payments through the federation. If the athlete hires support staff from within the country, SAI would enter into a direct contract with the parties concerned.

In case of foreign exposure trips to help the athletes train, the funds would be sent through the individual federations.

This step has been taken in order to curb misappropriation of funds by the athletes, according to the g

What's Next?

The Target Olympic Podium scheme was announced in 2015 with a long-term view of improving India's performance in the Olympics. The mission of the scheme is to identify potential medal winners for India at 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympics. It will be interesting to see if the change in scheme is actually able to solve the problem of red-tapism and misappropriation of funds.

Author's Opinion

This change in the Target Olympic Podium scheme might be beneficial if it helps athletes concentrate more on their training than miscellaneous stuff. It should be a welcome move for all athletes who come under this scheme.