New Delhi: The Year 2011 witnessed spectrum of initiatives undertaken for transformation of sports in the country by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.  Important ones are measures taken to increase transparency and accountability of National Sports Federations by initiating a national debate on the need for legislation for development of sports at National level leading to drafting National Sports Development Bill, 2011 and compilation of National Sports Development Code.

To improve the performance of athletes in the London Olympics, the Government has launched Operation Excellence –London Olympics-2012 on mission mode and earmarked Rs 258.39 Crore for Preparation of Athletes.

The highlights of the measures taken during the year are as follows;

1.        Draft Legislation for Development of Sports at National Level:

With suo motto statement in the Lok Sabha on 22nd February this year, Ajay Maken Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports  initiated  a national debate on the need to have a legislation for the development of sports at  the national level and to deal with all matters concerned. In his statement, Ajay Maken  said that the draft legislation would be based on some of the core principles enunciated in the ’Basic Universal Principles of Good Governance’ proposed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and endorsed by the XIII Olympic Congress, which include fair and transparent election process; age and tenure limit in respect of office bearers; and participation of athletes in the decision-making process and best practices in sport governance identified from the legal frame work of sports obtaining in other countries. A preliminary exposure draft was placed in the public domain, on the website of the Ministry giving 30 days time for comments and suggestions. The draft was also sent to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and all National Sports Federations (NSFs) seeking their response within the above-mentioned time-limit.

Later on,  the  Ministry constituted a Committee under the chairmanship of Justice Mukul Mudgal, retired Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, to examine, in details, the comments and suggestions received from various quarters and make appropriate recommendations to fine-tune the draft National Sports Development Bill. The Draft Bill was put up for the consideration of the Union Cabinet and it directed the Ministry to recast the Bill for better management of sports in the country.

Later on, the Ministry incorporated several modifications in its first Draft Bill to streamline it while retaining its basic principles of transparency, good governance and de-control from Government intervention. Serious consideration has also been given to remove the perception that the Sports Ministry was seeking to directly interfere in sports. 

Commenting on the revised Draft Bill, Ajay Maken stated that it is the endeavor of the Government to make India a prominent player on the global sporting arena. This can only be done when transparency, unbiased decisions, democratic elections and joint development of sports is inculcated. The Bill seeks to align the sports movement in a structured way that the Central Government, Sports Authority of India, National Olympic Committee and the National Sports Federation can work together for the overall promotion and development of sports. The Bill recognizes that at the core of sports development are the athletes and effort is being made by the Bill to give them a say in running the sports as well as secure better welfare measures for them, Maken added.

2.        National Sports Development Code of India, 2011:

The Sports Ministry released a compilation containing all guidelines issued by the Government of India from time to time to promote good governance in the management of sports development, including sporting excellence, in the country.

3.        Operation Excellence – London Olympics - 2012 - Earmarks Rs 258.39 Cr for Preparation of Athletes

Come and Play Scheme-- Number of students registered

The Ministry unveiled the road map for the forthcoming London Olympics- OPEX LONDON 2012.  This programme envisages undertaking Operation Excellence (OPEX) in the run up to the games, entails training, coaching and all other facilities to teams and individual competitors in different disciplines. There are two operational arms in implementing the programme.
(a)    Medal prospects and the top 10 category in selected individual disciplines  managed and funded through the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF), and
(b)    The preparation of National Teams for all the All the Olympics Disciplines with a focus on Training camps, National and Foreign Coaches, Equipments support and Training and Competition Exposure Abroad will be implemented by Sports Authority of India (SAI).

Under the “Project Opex 2012” the Ministry has earmarked Rs. 258.39 crore for the period April,2011 to August,2012 and out of this , Rs 119.19 crore have been spent so far .  A total of 125 Indian coaches and 19 foreign coaches have been selected for engagement. 32 Government observers in the identified disciplines have been appointed to ensure the effective conduct of the National Coaching Camps and for fair selection of players for international exposures and qualifying competitions. With a view to ensuring best possible nutrition and diet to national athletes, the Sports Minister appointed a three member committee of experts. In addition to this, a three member oversight Committee consisting of one member each from IOA, Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Sport discipline is also constituted which visits the national camps periodically to check the standards of food and of other infrastructure in these camps. To ensure speedy clearance of teams and individuals for participation abroad, the complete process of clearance has been now entrusted to SAI by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports since April, 2011. A Special Cell in the TEAMS Division in SAI has been created for this purpose.    
Details of Operation excellence participants as well as funds spend till date.

OPEX LONDON 2012
Core probables    732
Number of Indian Coaches    125
Number of Foreign Coaches    19
Foreign exposure Visits by athletes teams    95
Amount spent in foreign exposure    65 Cr
Total amount spend including foreign visits    119.19 crore


The London Olympics 2012 will be held from 27th July, 2012 till 13th August, 2012 at London with 26 sports disciplines. Keeping in view the performance of Indian teams/individuals in Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and other international tournaments 16 disciplines, namely, Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Gymnastics, Hockey, Judo, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Weightlifting and Wrestling have been identified for systematic and scientific training.

4.        “Come And Play Scheme” Launched:

With an objective of putting the newly-constructed/ renovated stadia in Delhi to optimum use for the furtherance of sports and sports person, the  Sports Minister unveiled a detailed program, “COME AND PLAY” which envisages opening up of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) stadia in the city for use by school children, students, sports person as also the common people. The response to the Scheme has been encouraging and has attracted around 14,000 of sports enthusiasts. The objective of the Scheme is essentially to impart coaching, primarily to beginners, not only to broad base sports but for optimum utilization of the facilities available. 

Considering the success of the Scheme in Delhi, the Ministry later on launched the “Come & Play Scheme” nationwide. Aimed at opening the SAI sporting infrastructure for sports loving citizen apart from dedicated sports person, the Scheme would ensure access to more than 60 SAI facilities, spread across the length and breadth of the Country.

Under Come & Play Scheme, number of students registered at 61 SAI centres are 7457, However total registered students across India under this Scheme are 14,209.

5.        One Member Committee to Enquire into issues Concerning Prevalence of Doping:
In the light of the positive DOPE tests of eight athletes, the Sports Ministry  appointed Justice Mukul Mudgal, retired Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana as a one member Committee to enquire into all the aspects of the issues relating to prevalence of Doping. As per the terms of reference stated in its Sports Ministry’s order issued , the Committee has been asked to determine the facts and circumstances leading to large scale recent incidents of alleged doping in Athletics discipline; examine reasons for such large scale prevalence of doping and modus operandi involved, including availability of the prohibited substances in and around training camps/competitions; enquire into the role of agencies involved , if any and suggest remedial measures to improve the protocols of dope testing and its integrity and promptness so that such lapses, if any, do not happen in future. The Committee has submitted its report.


6.        Demerger of National Institute of Sports, Patiala From Sports Authority of India
The Ministry also announced the demerger of the National Institute of Sports (NIS), Patiala from Sports Authority of India (SAI). Aimed at resuscitating and establishing the Academic character of the Institute, the move will ensure that NIS, Patiala emerges an ‘Institution of National Importance’, excelling in Sports Academics and education, training and recognition/certification of coaches.
7.        Joint Executive Board of HI & IHF to Function as National Sports Federation for Hockey:
In a significant way forward, Indian Hockey Federation (I.H.F) & Hockey India (H.I)  came together to sign an agreement leading up to formation of a joint executive board which shall perform the function of the National Sports Federation for Hockey.
The main objective of an agreed formula proposed by the Union Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs and Sports Ajay Maken, was to arrive at an administrative arrangement which will end the duality existing in Hockey for the past more than 2 ½ years.

8.   National Institute of Sports Sciences & Medicine to be set up:

The Ministry announced the decision to set up the National Institute of Sports Science and Medicine (NISSM) . Premised at the Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) Stadium in the Capital, the Institute will aim at fostering the much needed disciplines of Physiology, Psychology, Nutrition, Biochemistry, Biomedical, Anthropometry and Sports Medicine, with the purpose of providing cutting edge excellence to Indian Sports and athletes.
Modelled on the lines of China Institute of Sports Sciences (CISS), the NISSM, apart from other inputs, emanates from a series of bi-lateral endeavors between India and China over the past year and a half.

9.    SAI & AIFF signs agreement to develop JLN Stadium as Football Hub:

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) and All India Football Federation (AIFF) signed an agreement to develop the Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) Stadium as football hub in the country.

As per agreement, SAI will enable use of the Stadium by AIFF including the main pitch for a maximum period of 40 days per year. SAI will also provide AIFF the outside practice ground of the stadium free of cost for 50 days in a year along with other necessary facilities available in the stadium for the smooth conduct of national and international football tournaments. AIFF will hold International matches, Domestic tournaments and for the remaining period out of 40 days, it will hold coaching camps and clinics related to Football. The agreement will be valid for 1 year and can be extended further for 2 years on the basis of review and mutual understanding.


10.    Cash Awards worth Rs 7.71 Crore distributed to Coaches & Sportspersons:

The Ministry has sanctioned cash awards worth Rs.2.08 crore to 130 sportspersons, who won medals in international sports events during 2009-10 and 2010-11 in the disciplines Athletics, Billiards & Snooker, Wrestling, Chess, Shooting, Boxing, Rowing, Swimming, Squash Rackets, Judo, Weightlifting, Yachting and Para Asian Games.  The Ministry has also sanctioned cash awards worth Rs. 5.63 crore to 132 coaches, who have imparted coaching to sportspersons who have won medals in Commonwealth Games 2010 and Asian Games 2010.

11.    Youth Employability Skill Project:

The Government of India has initiated a pilot project namely Youth Employability Skill (YES) Project with the focus on providing specific employable skills to unemployed youth in all the States in the North Eastern Region. The objective is to enhance the employability of youth by running a variety of employable skills based training courses through recognized Vocational Training Providers (VTPs) for nearly 1000 rural youth and 7000 youth club members in all the 59 districts of North Eastern States. The skill training is being provided by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) through its partner agency. A Training programme of three months duration in Rural Retail Sales & Marketing with Information Technology and Personality Development was organised in July, 2011 in Manipur. During the current financial year i.e. 2011-12, a sum of Rs.3.00 crore has been sanctioned for the implementation of the scheme.
After the success of the pilot project, it is proposed to expand it to all other States including naxal hit/insurgency dominated areas of the country. A proposal has been referred to Planning Commission, wherein it has been projected to provide training to 15000 youth under Youth Employability Skills (YES) during the 12th Plan period.

12.   500 Member Youth Delegation Visited China:

A 500 Indian Youth delegation led by Ajay Maken Minister of State (I/C) of Youth Affairs & Sports visited China under Indo- China Youth Exchange Programme. The Chinese Government has the designated year 2011 as the year of India China Youth Exchange and it was the 6th Indian delegation visited China under the programme. The Premier of China had invited a 500 member Youth Delegation to China while, he was in New Delhi in December, 2010.

13.    Karnataka to host 17th National Youth Festival:

The 17th National Youth Festival will be held during 12th to 16th January, 2012 at Mangalore, Karnataka. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports organizes every year, the National Youth Festival from January 12th to 16th, to commemorate the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda i.e. 12th January. The theme of the festival will be “Celebrating Diversity in Unity”.