JAMMU: Sportspersons have a reason to smile as Jammu and Kashmir government has approved a new policy to promote sports as a career option among the young professionals in the union territory
The Administrative Council (AC), which met here under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, decided to roll out J&K Sports Policy 2022.
Farooq Khan and Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisors to the Lieutenant Governor, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary, J&K, and Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor attended the meeting.
The new Sports Policy is aimed at promoting sports in the Union territory by developing infrastructure and incentivizing sportspersons to excel in their respective games. The Policy strives to achieve excellence by involving all the stakeholders and establishing inter-departmental synergies for composite development of sports.
The basic cannons of the Sports Policy are to ‘Scout’- identify talent and catch them young; ‘Engage’- ensure grassroots inclusive engagement in sports & games (Sports for All & Fitness for All); ‘Facilitate’-provide sports infrastructure, facilities, know-how, and training; and ‘Recognize’- acknowledge the achievements and contributions through awards and further employment.
Sources say the Principal Secretary Sports Alok Kumar burnt the midnight oil to draft this policy and officials believe that this policy is one of the best Government interventions in sports in the country.
The Policy incorporates various annual awards like the Award for Excellence in Sports for10 sportsperson, J&K Khel Protsahana Award for Sports Association, and two veterans/ experienced sportspersons/ organizers or referees, Parshuram Award for 5 best Coaches in different disciplines.
To further motivate the UT’s sporting talent, the Sports Policy announces special cash awards to the winners in Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Championship (Seniors/ Juniors), World Cup/ Championships, Youth Olympic Games, South Asian Games, and World University Games/ Championships; in the range of Rs. 1.00 lakh to Rs. 1.00 crore.
Further, the winners in all recognized National competitions and National School Games in various sports disciplines will be granted specified scholarships from the Directorate of Youth Service & Sports.
Moreover, special emphasis has been laid to meet the sporting needs of the specially-abled sportspersons through sufficient infrastructure and training facilities to ensure their full participation in various events. The Department will also organize several para-games at District and UT levels.
Furthermore, the Policy provides for the annual recruitment of outstanding sportspersons achieving podium finish/ participation in recognized international and national competitions. The expertise of outstanding players will also be utilized to impart specialized training/ coaching to budding players and athletes across the UT. Through inter-departmental convergences, new vistas of employment will be opened for youth in the fields of Tourism, Education, and Adventure/Winter Sports.
