The 3^rd Conference of State Ministers for Youth Affairs and Sports was held here today under the Chairpersonship of the Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports, Dr. M.S. Gill. The Minister of State for Human Resource Development Smt. Purandeswari Devi also attended the Conference.

            Dr. M.S. Gill appreciated the efforts made by States in the implementation of Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA).  He referred to the recent initiatives taken by the Ministry such as release of central share in a single instalment; introduction of structured course and pedagogy for training of masters trainers and kridashrees; coverage of all panchayats at one go in respect of small States/UTs like Lakshwadeep and Andaman & Nicobar; 20% annual coverage for North Eastern states against 10% for normal States.  He emphasized the need to promote and protect playing fields, and urged the State Governments to set up State level Playing Field Associations.  Dr. Gill also referred to the new proposal for creation of Urban Sports Infrastructure, which envisages 100% financial assistance for the setting up of community sports facilities and sports academies, engagement of coaches, coach development etc.

            The Minister appreciated the innovative work done by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in setting up several professionally managed sports academies for which they have been awarded Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar for 2010.  He announced that from now onwards one award will be earmarked for the best performing State in sports development.

            Speaking on the Commonwealth Games preparation, the Sports Minister expressed confidence that the games will be held successfully. He stated that the main outcome of the games would be the performance of our sportspersons and the sporting legacy left behind by the event.  With a view to encouraging the sportspersons, the Minister announced doubling of cash awards for the coming Commonwealth Games and Asian Games to Rs.20 lakhs (from Rs.10 lakhs) for gold medalist, Rs.10 lakhs (from Rs.5 lakhs) for silver medalist, and Rs.6 lakhs (from Rs.3 lakhs) for bronze medalist.

            On the youth side, Dr Gill stated that efforts are on to add over one lakh rural youth clubs to the present number of three lakh rural youth clubs, which would lead to enhancement of coverage of membership from the present level of 80 lakh to over 100 lakh youth.  He also referred to the Rajiv Gandhi Award Scheme, which promotes adventure activities among the youth, including mountaineering, trekking and desert safari, which are aimed at national integration.  The Minister stated that, this year more than 5,000 beneficiaries will be covered as compared to 2,000 last year.  He also announced that the National Youth Festival will be held at Udaipur form January 12 to 16, 2011.  The Ministry will provide a grant of Rs.2 crore to the State Government of Rajasthan for the conduct of youth festival.

            The Minister of State for HRD, Smt. Purandeswari Devi highlighted various initiatives taken by the Ministry of Human Resource Development to integrate physical education and sports with the school curriculum.  She stated that, the National Education Policy and the National Curriculum Framework already provide for this, which has been now furthered with the introduction of the Right to Education Act, 2009.  The Act prescribes that every school should have access to a playground and engage a part-time physical education instructor.  The Minister also highlighted the need for convergence between Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and the Panchayat Yuva Krida aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA).

            A large number of important recommendations were made by the State Sports Ministers, which are enumerated below: -

·         Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry and the Ministry of Human Resource Development should issue joint guidelines for the integration of physical education and sports in the school curriculum.

·         Sport should be used as a development tool, particularly in the tribal, hilly areas and border districts.

·         The State Sports Ministers unanimously resolved that there was an urgent need for enacting a National Sports Act for promoting good governance practices in the National Sports Federations, including professional management, financial accountability and good electoral practices.  They also recommended the setting up of a National Sports Dispute Redressal Tribunal to ensure speedy resolution of sports disputes, including player’s grievances.  It was noted that a large number of countries have sports legislation in place to regulate the activities of sports federations and facilitate proper sports development.

·         The State Sports Ministers unanimously resolved in favour of setting up of State Playing Field Associations in order to create necessary institutional structure for formulating and implementing a national policy aimed at promotion and preservation of playing fields.

·         The importance of convergence of different central and state schemes was endorsed by the State Ministers and a specific reference was made to the convergence between PYKKA and MNREGA and SSA.

·         State Ministers acknowledged the role of SAI, NYKS and NSS in promoting youth and sports development throughout the country and emphasized the need to strengthen coordination between them and the State Governments for better programme delivery.

The conference concluded on a positive note with an optimistic outlook on the future of sports development in India both at the participative and the competitive level.

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