Achievements and initiatives of Department of Sports during 2013

I.          Constitution of Steering Committee to Monitor and Coordinate the Work Related to Major International Sports Events: To monitor  and coordinate the work relating to major international sports events,  upto  Olympic Games 2020, a Steering Committee has been constituted under the Chairmanship of Secretary (Sports) and consisting of Director General, Sports Authority of India, Joint Secretary (Sports), Joint Secretary (Development), Government Observers of the concerned sports disciplines, representatives of concerned National Sports Federations, representative of Indian Olympic Association, chief coach of the concerned sports disciplines and Executive Director (Teams), Sports Authority of India.  The Functions of the Steering Committee are, inter alia, deciding core probables and reviewing performance of the core probables regularly for deciding who needs to be retained/dropped/added.

II.        Approval of 13 sports infrastructure projects under the Ministry`s Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme:  The Ministry has approved 13 sports infrastructure projects under the Ministry`s Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme during the year.

III.       Inclusion of Wrestling in the 2020 Olympics:  International Olympic Committee (IOC) at its 125th session held in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 8^thSeptember 2013 decided to include wrestling in the 2020 Olympics in addition to the 25 core sports. Wrestling, squash and baseball/softball were in contention for being included as an additional sport in the 2020 Olympics. Earlier, Executive Board (EB) of the IOC at its meeting held on 12th February 2013 had recommended that wrestling be not included in the list of core sports for the 2020 Olympics.  The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports took the lead in taking up the matter with IOC and the countries where wrestling is popular to ensure that wrestling is retained in the Olympic Games.

IV.       Launch of Scheme of Human Resources Development in Sports:The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports have revised the existing ‘Scheme relating to Talent Search & Training’ and renamed it as ‘Scheme of Human Resources Development in Sports’. Under the revised Scheme, the Government intends to focus on developing human resources in sports sciences and sports medicine for the overall development of sports and games in the country. This will help the country be self reliant in these fields over a period of time in general and meet the requirements of the proposed National Institute of Sports Sciences and Medicines in particular. Approval has already been given for support to 2 doctors for advanced studies in sports science/sports medicine.

V.        Government`s approval for Under 17 World Cup Football Tournament in 2017: The Cabinet at its meeting held on 13.6.2013 approved the proposal for submitting guarantees sought by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) from the Government of India for their bid to host the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Under 17 World Cup Football Tournament in 2017 in India. FIFA has awrded the vent to India. The FIFA Under 17 World Cup is a prestigious event and would be held in India for the first time. The AIFF have proposed holding of matches in five States, namely Delhi, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka and one among the States of Assam, Goa and Kerala. 

The Under-17 World Cup would encourage more youngsters to participate in sports and also help develop the sport of football in the country. It will also promote tourism in the country. The event also has a lot of importance from the point of view of playing technique, training, coaching and competition exposure, etc., especially at under-17 level, and thus would be good for the future of football in India.  

VI.       Standard Operative Procedure (SOP) to identify circumstances (female hyperandrogenism) in which a particular sports person will not be eligible to participate in competitions in the female category: There have been reports in the press about the female athletes who have physical characteristics of male gender.  In such cases, the athletes have faced humiliation and public discussion on their gender.  To avoid such controversies, the Ministry requested the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to identify the tests and procedures which can give a conclusive finding about the gender of an athlete.  Taking into consideration the recommendations made by the Medical Board of AIIMS and the regulations of the International Olympic Committee on Female Hyperandrogenism, the Department framed and circulated on 19.3.2013 Standard Operative Procedure (SOP) to identify circumstances (female hyperandrogenism) in which a particular sportsperson will not be eligible to participate in competitions in the female category. 

VII.     Signing of MOU on cooperation in sports between India and Hungary A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation in the field of sports was signed between India and Hungary on 17^th October 2013 during the Prime Minister of Hungary`s visit to India. The MOU provides, inter alia, for cooperation between the Olympic Committees, Sports Federations, universities, sports scientific bodies as well as authorities of the two countries for sharing of know-how and experience in the field of building sport infrastructure, management and administration of sports facilities.

VIII.    Draft National Sports Development Bill, 2013: A Working Group was constituted on 21.3.2013 under the chairmanship of Justice (Retd) Mukul Mudgal for drafting of the National Sports Development Bill 2013.  

The Working Group was asked to examine the existing draft Bill from both sports governance and legal angles and fine-tune/revise the same with the purpose of making it more precise and succinct, to recommend draft model rules to be framed under the Bill, to examine the requirement for a separate model Sports Development Bill for enactment by the States, to examine the possibility of constituting separate bodies like a Sports Election Commission, a Dispute Resolution Tribunal and an Ethics Committee and suggest their powers, functions, constitution, funding provision, etc., to make specific recommendations on preparation of Electoral College and streamlining of State/District bodies.  

The Working Group submitted the draft National Sports Development Bill, 2013, on 10^th July 2013, which was placed in public domain for inviting suggestions/comments of general public and stakeholders by 31^st July 2013. A revised draft National Sports Development Bill 2013 incorporating the feedback received on the draft Bill has been submitted by the Working Group. Further action is being taken in the matter. 

IX.       Prevention of Sporting Fraud Bill, 2013:

In its continuing efforts for cleansing of sports in the country, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, in consultation with the Ministry of Law has drafted a specialized legislation namely the PREVENTION OF SPORTING FRAUD BILL, 2013. The Draft Bill was uploaded on the website of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for inviting suggestions/comments of the general public and stakeholders by 3^rdDecember, 2013.  The comments received have been considered and the Ministry will shortly place the matter for consideration by the Cabinet.

X.        Adoption of age and tenure limits in respect of office bearers by National Sports Federations: All 53 National Sports Federations have given undertakings in writing to amend their constitutions to incorporate age and tenure limits for office bearers as prescribed in the National Sports Development Code 2011. Out of the 53 NSFs, 45 have already amended their constitutions to incorporate age and tenure restrictions. 

XI.         Signing of MOU between the Department of Sports and the Department of AIDS Control: Department of Sports and Department of AIDS Control signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 29^th November, 2013.  

Objectives of the MOU are to reach a large number of youth engaged in sports activities at village, district and state level with information on STI/HIV/AIDS prevention and related services; build the capacity of sports educators, administrators and coaches on “Minimizing the risk of HIV transmission on and outside the sports field; involving youth organizations, sports  federations in HIV/AIDS prevention activities; promoting awareness generation through hoardings and banners at prominent places and sports infrastructure during state/national events and tournaments; and involving eminent sports personalities  for  addressing social stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS.