This Ministry is implementing the Scheme of ‘Pension to Meritorious Sportspersons’ for providing lifelong monthly pension to medal winners of Olympic Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. after they retire from active sports and the Scheme of ‘Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay National Welfare Fund for Sportspersons’ (PDUNWFS)’ for providing financial assistance to sportspersons of yesteryears now living in indigent circumstances. 

Further, Government has enhanced the prize money of National Sports Awards recently i.e. 

    1. for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award from Rs 7.5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh, 

    2. for Dronacharya Award (Regular Category) from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, 

    3. for Dronacharya Award (Lifetime Category) from Rs5 lakh to Rs 15 lakh, 

    4. for Arjuna Award from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 15 lakh and for Dhyan Chand Award from Rs 5lakh to Rs 10 lakh. 

Further, Cash award is given to the sportspersons for winning medals in international sports events under ‘The Special Awards to Medal winners in International Sports events and their Coaches Scheme’. There is provision of up to 5% reservation in direct recruitment in Group ‘C’ posts for meritorious sportspersons in Central Government. On this, recently, the Government has also increased the number of sports discipline from 43 to 63 in the list of games. Further under the National Sports Development Fund(NSDF), Special assistance is also provided for various sports promotion activities.

About Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay National Welfare Fund

Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay National Welfare Fund For Sportspersons (PDUNWFS) was set up in March, 1982 with a view to assisting outstanding Sportspersons of yesteryear, living in indigent circumstances who had brought glory to the Country in sports. The scheme as revised in May, 2016 to provide for lump sum ex-gratia assistance to outstanding Sportspersons of yesteryears. Provision of pension has been done away with as there is already a Scheme of Pension for Meritorious Sportspersons.

Salient features

◦ To provide suitable assistance to outstanding sportspersons now living in indigent circumstances;

◦ To provide suitable assistance to outstanding sportspersons injured during the period of their training for competitions and also during the competitions, depending on the nature of the injury;

◦ To provide suitable assistance to outstanding sportspersons who bring glory to the country in international sports field and who are disabled as an after effect of their strenuous training or otherwise and to provide them assistance for medical treatment;

◦ To provide suitable assistance to promote welfare of outstanding sportspersons generally in order to alleviate distress among them and their dependents in indigent circumstances.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants. The views expressed here are personal.)