Sports Ministry revises Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar plan

NEW DELHI: Sports Ministry has revised the scheme of Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar, which was introduced to encourage involvement of corporates and sports promotion boards in the development of sports in the country.

According to the revised plan, Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar scheme, which was introduced in 2009, will now be given in four categories: Identification and nurturing of budding talent, Encouragement of sports through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Employment of sportspersons and sports welfare measures and Sports for Development.

"In the revised Scheme, eligibility criteria for all four categories have been prescribed. As 'Training to promote rural sports, nationally recognized sports, Paralympic sports and Olympic sports' have been included in the Schedule VII of the Companies Act 2013," Sports Ministry said in a release.

"The companies can now spend on promotion and development of sports from the funds earmarked for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), a specific category for 'Encouragement of sports through Corporate Social Responsibility' has been provided for in the revised Scheme.

"As non-governmental organizations are also doing a lot of work in promotion and development of sports, a separate category 'Sports for Development' has been provided for exclusively for NGOs to recognize their contributions," the release added.