The Union Budget, which was presented in the Lok Sabha by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday, revealed an increase in funds of more than Rs 300 crore in sports allocations from last year.
The total budget allocated for sports now stands at Rs 3062.60 cr.
Last year (for 2021-22), the Union budget had allocated Rs 2,596.14 crore to sports, which was less than Rs 230.78 crore allocated in the previous financial year.
Now there has been an increase of Rs 305.58 crore in the sports budget.
With the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games coming up, this increase in the budget will serve as a boost to the sector.
The amount allocated to the National Youth Empowerment Program has also been increased this year ( from 108 crores to Rs 138 crore). The Khelo India programme’s budget has also been increased from Rs 879 crore to Rs 974 crore this time.
The Finance Minister also spoke about the gaming sector and said, “An AVGC promotion task force, with all stakeholders, will be set up to recommend ways to realise this and build domestic capacity for serving out markets and the global demand.”
Commenting on the announcement, Jehil Thakkar, partner and media and entertainment sector leader, Deloitte India told PTI that the move will help India achieve its potential of 20 lakh jobs in the sector.
The government on Tuesday announced setting up of a task force to recommend steps for promotion of animation, visual effects, gaming, and comic (AVGC) sector.
“These are critical skills for growth of the metaverse and India is poised to take advantage of this ecosystem,” he said.
In the last budget, the allocation was Rs. 2596.14 which was later revised to Rs. 2757.02 crore. At present, it stands at a new high of 3062.60 crore. It is likely to be revised during the course of the
financial year, depending on the requirements of sportspersons and suggestions from the National Sports Federations.
It is significant to note that there was no announcement of any increased allocation for training and preparation of the sportspersons. On the other hand, the budget includes a hike of Rs. 316.29 crore for the government's ambitious, flagship scheme Khelo India. From a modest Rs. 97.52 crore when it was introduced in 2015-16, the budget of Khelo India has been raised from last year’s
Rs. 657.71 crore to Rs. 974 crore - around 30 percent of the entire sports budget.
India won seven medals, including a historic track and field gold, at the Tokyo Olympics. The sporting activities have also resumed in a phased manner in the country and 2022 is an important season because of two global events - the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and Hangzhou Asian Games - lined up.
Considering all of it, the government may have decided to spend more on sporting activities.
The government's flagship Khelo India programme witnessed an increase of Rs 316.29 crore in the 2021-22 budget, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday.
The financial allocation towards the Khelo India programme, which got Rs 657.71 crore in the last budget, was increased to Rs 974 crore.
The total encouragement and awards to sports persons have seen a substantial increase from Rs 245 crore to Rs 357 crore.
The Sports Authority of India's budget had been reduced by Rs 7.41 crore to Rs 653 crore.
The SAI is the nodal organisation to manage nationals camps, provide infrastructure, equipment and other logistics to the country's sportspersons.
The allocation towards the National Sports Development Fund has been reduced by Rs 9 crore to Rs 16 crore.
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