In order to make India 'Samridh' (prosperous), 'Swasth' (healthy) and 'Mazboot' (strong), Minister of Steel, Chaudhary Birender Singh, on Monday, released Corporate Sports Policy (CSP) for Central Public sector Enterprises (CPSEs) under the ministry which focuses on winning sizeable number of medals, especially Gold in various international sports tournaments.
The policy will primarily focus on providing finance and infrastructure to various sports for which an Apex Sports Body (ASB) has been constituted.
"Sports are the mirror of a country's strength. The strength does not lie only with the armed forces of a country but also with the sportspersons. They are the mirror of the economy and development of a country. So, we are looking towards making India Samridh, Swasth and Mazboot by making significant and positive contribution in the arena of sports in India through this policy," said the minister.
Saying that CPSEs have a capacity to work in this direction, the minister said, "CPSEs, especially those with plants are capital intensive and they can make positive impact on sports with their resources. These CPSEs are not just responsible towards their plants but are also responsible towards the society and the nation."These CPSEs will be as dedicated towards the policy as they are towards their plants, he added.
The minister also said that they are planning to involve Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs in order to get affiliated to various federations.
"We have decided to involve sports ministry so that the body gets affiliated to National level Sports Associations, Indian Olympic Association and Para Olympic federation just as railway board, our armed forces and ONGC," he said. The decision has also been taken so that the body in future gets equal voting rights as these organisations presently have, he added.
The CPSEs can also sponsor fully or partially various national and international sports events, he added
Highlighting the organizational structure of the policy, Kumar said that there has been a bifurcation of different sports among different CPSEs. "Different CPSEs have been given different sports. NMDC has been given archery, shooting and water sports. Similarly SAIl was given football and athletics. MOIN was given badminton, hockey and water sports. MSTC was given tennis and kabaddi. Similar structure has been designed for other organisations also," he said.
The policy has been drafted by consulting various sportspersons, coaches and staff of different CPSEs, he added.