Schemes

Keeping the above the Sports Authority of India with a view of promotes sports at Sub-Junior, Junior and Senior levels is implementing the under mentioned schemes all over the country:

The Target Olympic Podium Scheme is a flagship program of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports which is an attempt to provide assistance to India’s top athletes. The Scheme looks to add a premium to the preparations of these athletes so that they can win Olympic medals in 2020 and 2024 Olympics.Under the Scheme, the Department of Sports shall identify athletes who are potential medal winners in 2020 / 2024 Olympics.The idea of the Scheme is to also keep an eye in the future and fund a Developmental Group of Athletes who are medal prospects for the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles Games in 2028.

History of the Scheme

In order to realize India’s Olympic medal dream, at the 2016 (Rio) and 2020 (Tokyo) Olympics, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) established the Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS or TOP Scheme) in September 2014. To fulfill the objective of this scheme, a committee (TOPS Elite Athletes’ Identification Committee) was constituted to identify the elite athletes who could achieve the Olympic podium. The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports is responsible for appointment of TOPS members with emphasis on ensuring representation from ‘High-Priority’ sports (Archery, Badminton, Boxing Hockey, Shooting and Wrestling). The total members of the committee are to be decided by MYAS. TOPS constitution does not stipulate minimum/maximum members for the committee. The first committee was constituted under the chairmanship of Shri. Anurag Thakur (MP) and comprised of eminent athletes (Pulella Gopichand, Rahul Dravid, Abhinav Bindra, and Manisha Malhotra) and sports administrators from Sport Authority of India (SAI) and the MYAS [DG SAI and JS (Sports)].

Recent Success

The TOPS sponsored athletes gained relative success at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2018 Commonwealth Games. P V Sindhu and Sakshi Malik captured silver and bronze in Badminton and Wrestling respectively at the 2016 Rio Olympics. In the 2016 Paralympic Games, the TOPS Athletes won 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze demonstrating theeffectiveness of the Scheme.The recent success of the Commonwealth Games emphasized the efficacy of the Scheme. Out of the 70 athletes who won medals at the CWG, 47 of them were supported under the TOP Scheme.

Mission Olympic Cell (MOC)

The Mission Olympic Cell is a dedicated body created to assist the athletes who are selected under the TOP Scheme. The MOC is under the Chairmanship of the Director General, Sports Authority (DG, SAI). The Committee meetings are attended by representatives of respective National Sports Federations (NSFs) and Project Officers of the SAI besides other members. The idea of the MOC is to debate, discuss and decide the processes and methods so that the athlete receives best assistance. The MOC also focuses on selection, exclusion and retention of athletes, coaches, training institutes that can receive TOPS assistance. Some of the functions that the MOC are enumerated below:

• To approve customized programs for athletes chosen under the TOP Scheme.
• To recommend financial disbursement for the customized programs.
• To support, monitor and review progress of athletes in accordance with the training programs.
• To set a regular reporting structure on the athletes’ training program.
• To take decisions on sudden and unanticipated requirements/needs of athletes.
• To communicate regularly with the athletes on their progress, requirements and perspectives
• To engage implementation partner agencies to carry out/execute any or all the above functions.
• To ensure documentation/contractual obligations of beneficiaries.
• To deliver sponsor/commercial partner/media commitment under the NSDF TOP Scheme

Scheme of Assistance

The main objective of the Scheme is to provide added impetus towards the athlete’s preparations, over and above what is planned under the Annual Calendar of Training and Competition (ACTC). The selected athletes can seek assistance under the Scheme for the following:

• Customized training under reputed coaches at institutes having world-class facilities.
• Participation in international competition.
• Purchase of equipment.
• Services of support staff/personnel like Physical Trainer, Sports Psychologist, Mental Trainer and Physiotherapist etc.
• Any other support specific to the sport discipline.
• Out-of-pocket allowance of Rs. 50,000/- (Rupees fifty thousand only) a month to the athletes as an incentive

Selection and Review Committee

The Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) conducts a meeting every week in order to evaluate the proposals of the athletes. The Committee sanctions budgets based on the athlete’s requirement and the Committee’s recommendation. The Committee is also responsible for periodically conducting review of athlete’s progress and performances. Based on the Committee’s recommendation, athletes may be included, retained or excluded from the TOP Scheme.

• Excellent performance in sports and games at national and international levels is a matter of pride for all nations of the world. Countries have been utilizing sizeable resources and providing best of facilities to develop and sustain sports talent at the highest level. The performance in sports and games is one major yardstick of the nation’s quality of human development.
• The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) is the nodal Ministry in the Government of India to take care of the development of sports and games in the country. The Ministry is operating various schemes to achieve broad-basing of sports and excellence in sports. The ‘Scheme relating to Talent Search and Training’ is one such endeavor, providing financial assistance for training of promising sports-persons and their participation in major international competitions. The Scheme also extends financial assistance for training and short-term courses (up to one year) for coaches and sports specialists; in addition, sports specialists are sponsored for attending seminars/conferences at international level; assistance has also been extended for holding coaching camps/seminars/conferences within the country.
• The present scenario indicates the absence of adequate human resources in areas of sports sciences and sports medicine. These are vital areas requiring immediate attention, because the performance of an athlete depends significantly on the vailability of right inputs from sports scientists and sports medicine specialists. It is considered necessary to identify and send eligible persons with the necessary qualifications and aptitude for advanced/specialized courses in these areas to Universities/Institutes of international repute with world class facilities so as to have such expertise in India.
• Similarly, enough attention is not being given to research and publication in the field of sports and games. Adequate attention is required to be given to take up/encourage research work in sports-related matters which will have long term impact on excellence in sports and games in the country. Another area, which needs attention, is publication of outstanding works in sports making significant contribution to the available literature in the sports sector.
• Therefore, the existing ‘Scheme relating to Talent Search and Training’ is being totally revised to include fellowship programme, R & D projects and publication proposals for financial assistance. The revised scheme will focus on the academic and intellectual side of sports management. This is vitally important if we are to improve the standard of sports in the country.
• Under another existing scheme namely, ‘Scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations’ (NSF Scheme), the National Sports Federations are being assisted for several purposes such as organizing tournaments inside the country, participation in international tournaments organized outside, purchase of equipment, organizing coaching etc. With the enhanced allocation, the NSF scheme should take care of the requirements for customized training of top level and promising sportspersons. Therefore, the activities relating to training of sports-persons and participation in competitions will not be covered under TST scheme henceforth for financial assistance. However, financial assistance will continue to be extended for holding seminars/conferences and sponsoring sports specialists for attending international seminars/conferences.
• Keeping in view the change in priorities and focus, the scheme is renamed as ‘Scheme of Human Resources Development in Sports’.