Hockey players, reliant on PSUs and performance bonuses for a living, to get monthly allowance from government
The Sports Ministry has approved an out of pocket allowance of Rs 25,000 per month for hockey players who are picked in the national camp of both men's and women's team. The decision was taken after repeated requests from the governing body, Hockey India, in the monthly meeting of Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) on Thursday.
A total of 80 players (40 men and 40 women) will be part of the scheme. Hockey India will be sending the players names to Sports Ministry. The allowance would cost the government Rs 20 lakh per month.
The amount of Rs 25,000 will be same as the athletes in the developmental group of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme receive. The core group athletes are entitled to Rs 50,000 per month.
'Hockey India has requested us and we have decided to accept the demand as the players have performed well at the international level,' Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya told the reporters in an informal meet on Friday. 'The list would take into account form and fitness and names might change depending on these two factors.'
Indian hockey players draw salaries from the Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) that they are employed with and tournaments like the Hockey India League (HIL). The other source of income is the prize money won from tournaments like Asian Games, Olympics, and Asian Champions Trophy and the prize money that follows after that.
The MOC also approved financial proposals to the tune of Rs 4.28 crore during the meeting. Tennis players got the major chunk of the funds as Rs 1.38 crore will be going to tennis players Saketh Myneni, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, and three women players.
The ministry is also planning to expand the talent finding horizon of SAI regional centers.
'A lot of times we see videos of kids playing some sport getting uploaded on social media. People are making it a medium to reach and if found good in the first glance, such youngsters will be called to Khelo India regional centers where their potential will be assessed,' said Mandaviya. 'This would widen our talent identification mechanism, which is right now limited to age group competitions. It would ensure that we can reach the remotest corners of the country and find a promising athlete. This is all a part of the National Sports Repository System,' he added.
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