The Air Force Sports Control Board (AFSCB) has been honored with the ‘Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 2020’ award in recognition of its extraordinary contributions towards aiding athletes to shine in their respective sports and putting robust welfare measures for sports into action.
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar: Encouraging Sports Development
Established by the government in 2009, the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar scheme encourages involvement of corporates and sports promotion boards in the development of sports across the country. In 2015, the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports revised the scheme. As per the updated plan, the award is now presented in four categories – Identification and nurturing of young talent, Encouragement of sports through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Employment of sportspersons and sports welfare measures, and Sports for Development.
Sports Development within Armed Forces: Highlighting the Role of AFSCB
The Air Force Sports Control Board (AFSCB) functions as the chief body overseeing the planning and execution of sports activities within the Indian Air Force and at the Inter-Services level.
Army Sports Institute: Aiming for Olympic Excellence
The Army Sports Institute in Pune was established as a part of the Indian Army’s “Mission Olympics” programme in 2001. The institute nurtures the vast talent pool in the army with the ultimate goal of securing medals at the Olympics in seven chosen disciplines: Archery, Athletics, Boxing, Diving, Fencing, Weightlifting and Wrestling. Over the past three years, sportsmen trained at ASI have won 450 international and 1118 national medals.
Government Initiatives Elevating Sports Development
The government of India has put forward initiatives such as the Khelo India Scheme, National Sports Development Fund, National Sports Talent Contest (NSTC) Scheme, and Sports Authority of India Training Centres Scheme (STC) to foster sports development across the nation.
The Khelo India Scheme encourages sports across the country, leveraging sports’ cross-cutting influence to promote holistic development of children & youth, community development, social integration, gender equality, healthy lifestyle, national pride and economic opportunities.
The National Sports Development Fund provides opportunities for sportspersons to train under esteemed coaches with technical, scientific and psychological support, while giving them exposure to international competitions.
The National Sports Talent Contest (NSTC) Scheme scouts for sports talent in the age group of 8-14 years from schools and moulds them into future medal winners by offering scientific training.
Finally, the STC’s objective is to facilitate the Central and State Governments to work jointly for sports development through the integration of various schemes.
Sports Authority of India & Special Area Games (SAG) Scheme: Nurturing Talent and Promoting Excellence
The Sports Authority of India (SAI), established in 1982 by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, functions as India’s apex national sports body, working towards promoting sports development in the country.
On the other hand, the Special Area Games (SAG) Scheme is aimed at scouting natural talent for modern competitive sports from remote tribal, rural and coastal areas of the country. It then scientifically nurtures this talent to achieve excellence in sports.
