PHYSICAL EDUCATION, GAMES, SPORTS AND YOUTH WELFARE
A brief review of the progress of the Central schemes in the field of physical education, games and sports and youth welfare is given in the paragraphs that follow.
A. PHYSICAL EDUCATION The main object of the schemes in this field is to consolidate and extend the programme initiated in the second Five-Year Plan. Most of the schemes included in the previous Plan have, therefore, been continued.
(1) The Lakshmibai College of Physical Education, Gwalior.- The University Grants Commission, it may be reported, has granted to the graduates of the College parity of salary scales with lecturers when they are appointed as directors of physical education in colleges/universities.
The College is rapidly developing its facilities and the building-cum-administrative block is expected to be completed next year.
(2) National Physical Efficiency Drive.- The pattern of implementing the Scheme was reviewed in consultation with the representatives of the State Governments and others at an all-India seminar organised by the Government of India in July, 1961. To ensure uniformity and to build up a nucleus of better trained personnel to man the testing centres, three-day orientation courses were organised by the State Governments with the assistance of block grants from the Government of India. During the current year excepting one or two States from which
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information is still awaited, the tests were conducted at 1,035 centres involving about 1,50,000 participants. This registered considerable progress over the previous drives.
The Government of India have also decided to institute national awards through a competition to be held at New Delhi annually to which each State will depute six of its best three-star winners. The competition for 1961-62 will be in October, 1962.
(3) Grants-in-aid to Private Physical Education Training
Institutions.- On the basis of a model plan for a gymnasium prepared by the C.P.W. D., proposals for assistance have been invited from the nine institutions whose projects for this purpose were approved by the regional visiting committees. During the year under review and the next, a major part of the funds provided in the Scheme are expected to be utilised for this part of the work.
(4) Promotion of Research in Special Branches of Physical
Education (including Yoga).- The second sub-scheme provides for financial assistance for promotion of research in yoga and also for the popularisation of the yogic system of physical culture among the public. Financial assistance under this scheme has been continued to the Kaivalayadham Shreeman Madhava, Yoga Mandir Samiti, Lonavla and the Vishwayatan Yoga Ashram. (Delhi and Katra Vaishnav Devi branches).
The committee of medical experts which had been set up by the Government of India to evaluate the therapeutical claims of yoga and recommend measures for the scientific development of the institutions engaged in these activities has since submitted its report. The implementation of the Committee's recommendations is now being taken up in close cooperation with the Ministry of Health.
(5) Health Education.-
(6) Central Advisory Board of Physical Education and
Recreation.-
B. GAMES AND SPORTS
(1) National Institute of Sports.- The Institute is located at the Motibagh Estate, Patiala, comprising about 327 acres which was acquired by the Government of India from the Government of Punjab.
The Institute employs at present 8 foreign coaches and one Indian coach for eight important games. The first ad hoc training course, which was completed in October, 1961 imparted training to 132 coaches already working in the profession. The second ad hoc course which is expected to be completed in April 1962, has 146 trainees. Besides practical and theoretical lessons in the game/sport concerned, training has also been given in scientific principles of coaching, psychology of coaching, health and hygiene, physiology, anatomy, physio-theraphy and first-aid.
The Rajkumari Sports Coaching Scheme was merged into the National Institute of Sports with effect from 1st October 1961. AR full-time coaches working in this scheme and such part-time coaches who were wining to become full-time coaches after successfully completing the ad hoc course* hive been taken over on the Institute's pay-roll.
With the start of the National Institute of Sports, and the organization of a National Coaching Scheme, the first important steps have been taken towards raising the standard of sports and games in the country.
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(2) Assistance to National Sports Federations
Associations.-
(3) Construction of Stadia.-
(4) Establishment of a Sports Village.-
It is proposed to
set up a Sports Village in Delhi near Rajghat and it is hoped that the
matter will be finalised during 1962-63. The All-India Council of
Sports has set up a committee to work out the details of the project.
On the advice of the
All-India Council of Sports, the Ministry convened an All-India Sports
Congress during March 1962. The members of the All-India Council of
Sports and of the Board of Governors of the National Institute of
Sports, the presidents and secretaries of the national sports
federations and the State sports councils, prominent sports writers,
and noted sportsmen participated in the Congress at which various
questions pertaining to the administration of, sports in the country
were discussed. The report of the Congress will be considered by the
Government of India after it has been first examined by the All-India
Council of Sports.
On
the advice of the All-India Council of Sports, the Government of India
approved a scheme for honouring selected sportsmen of the year in each
major game by the grant of special award called the "Arjuna Award".
Twenty Arjuna Awards for the ,sportsmen of the Year 1961" representing
as many games were conferred on the selected sportsmen by the Vice-
President at a function held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
C. LABOUUR AND SOCIAL SERVICE SCHEME This scheme, which was operated in the first two Plans, has been continued in the Third Five-Year Plan also. It is divided into two parts: (a) Labour and Social Service Camps; and (b) Campus Work Projects.
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The object of the
Scheme is to inculcate a sense of dignity of manual labour among the
students and other youths, to give them an opportunity to get into
contact with village life and to offer shramdan for the improvement of
rural areas. The campers are largely drawn from colleges and schools,
and the duration of the camps is from 10 to 30 days. Each camper is
expected to put in about 4 hours of shramdan daily. The boy-campers
work on such projects as construction of roads; digging of soak pits;
digging of canals, water reservoirs, drainages and village wells;
building of bunds; widening of lanes in villages; afforestation; soil
conservation; and construction and improvement of village and school
playgrounds. The girl-campers work on such projects as environmental
service including personal hygiene, sanitation, home nursing child
care, care of the sick, and sewing and tailoring. The Scheme operates
through the universities, State Governments, N.C.C. Directorate and
voluntary organisations of all-India status like the Bharat Sevak
Samaj, Bharat Scouts and Guides, and Y.M.C.A. A panel of professors of
various universities has been constituted for the inspection of the
camps held by various organisations.
A provision of Rs. 14 lakh was made for the year 1961-62. During the period 1st April to 31st March 1962, a sum of Rs. 13,82,694.70 has been sanctioned to various agencies for holding Labour and Social Service Camps. The details of these grants are given below:-
Sl. Amount No. of Camps Held
No. Name of Organisation Sanctioned
(Rs.)
1. State Governments 23,869.62 9
2. N.C.C. Directorate 5,32,000.00 35
3. Universities 11,667.33 5
4. Bharat Sevak Samaj 8,03,409.75 1,200
(Approximately)
5. Bharat Scouts & Guides 1,902.00 1
6. Y.M.C.A. 9,846.00 4
TOTAL 13,82,694.70 1,254
(Approximately)
The purpose of this scheme is
to provide the much-needed amenities like recreation halls-cum-
auditoria, swimming Tools, gymnasia, open-air theatres, pavilions,
small stadia for spectators around the sports arena and cinder tracks.
One of the conditions for giving the grant is that the staff and
students of the beneficiary educational institutions should offer
skilled/unskilled labour on the project. The institutions have also
to contribute 25 per cent or more of the actual expenditure on the
project excluding the cost of voluntary labour. The grants are
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paid in three or four instalments depending upon the progress of construction work.
A provision of Rs. 20 lakh has been made for the year 1961-62. During the period 1st April, 1961 to 31st March, 1962, a sum of Rs. 19.49 lakh has been sanctioned for 234 projects.
D. YOUTH WELFARE The schemes implemented under the Youth Welfare Programme are, briefly described below.
The object of this scheme is to
provide facilities to students to undertake educational tours to
places of historical importance, scenic beauty, cultural interest, or
architectural grandeur as well as to places where big national
projects are being undertaken. During the current year, its
application was limited to the students studying in the Union
Territories. The Ministry gives grants to meet full third class rail,
and/or bus fare for such tours.
During the period up to March 1962, grants amounting to Rs. 66,305 were sanctioned to 35 institutions. One thousand twenty-seven students and 87 teachers were benefited by these grants.
The object of this scheme is to
encourage hiking by providing cheap accommodation to young people.
The Ministry gives;, grants to meet the entire cost on the
construction of a youth hostel subject to a maximum of Rs. 40,000 per
hostel.
Till March 1962, grants amounting to Rs. 80,000 were sanctioned to the Governments of West Bengal, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh for the construction of one youth hostel in each State. Apart from this, a grant of Rs. 15,000 has also been sanctioned to the Youth Hostels Association of India to meet 50 per cent of its administrative expenditure for the current year:
The object of the scheme is to bring
to the forefront the hidden and half-explored talents of the youth in
various cultural and artistic fields. These festivals serve a still
more important purpose; they enable the students from different
regions of the country to meet in an atmosphere of free and friendly
rivalry and exchange ideas with one another and thus help the process
of emotional integration.
After the break of one year in the series, the Ministry held the Seventh Inter-University Youth Festival in New Delhi from October 25 to 31, 1961 in which 36 universities participated. The objectives as well as the pattern of the Festival were considerably revised with greater emphasis laid on intellectual debates than on artistic performances. The morning sessions at the Festival were therefore entirely taken up by forum discussions for
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which each university was invited to send specially selected participants. In the organization of the camp itself, an effort was made to mix students from different geographical areas of the country so that the richness of our cultural traditions was brought home to them. The total number of participants at the Festival was 796 and its expenditure is estimated to be about Rs. 1,80,000.
To select candidates for participation in the Inter-University Youth, Festival held by the Ministry, the universities were requested to hold intercollegiate youth festivals and these were given financial assistance at 50 per cent of the expenditure on admissible items, subject to a maximum of Rs. 5,000 for each function.
The object of the
scheme is to set up specific machinery to carry on youth welfare
programmes for the students. The universities of Panjab, Jadavpur,
Patna, Vallabhbhai, Bhagalpur, Kerala, Osmania, Agra, Annamalai,
Rajasthan, and Gujarat have established the youth welfare boards so
far. The Minis-try meets 50 per cent of the administrative
expenditure on these boards, subject to a maximum of Rs. 5,000 per
board.
The
object of this scheme is to give short-term training to college
teachers in youth leadership and in the techniques of dramatic
production. In the year under report, one such camp was held at
Peermade in Kerala State recently.
E. SCOUTS AND GUIDES For the promotion of scouting and guiding in the country, the Government of India has given official recognition to the Bharat Scouts and Guides, a voluntary organization. Financial assistance is given to it for such activities as the holding of training camps, national jamborees, the purchase of camping equipment, the deputation of Indian scouts and guides for participation in international meets, etc.
F. NATIONAL DISCIPLINE SCHEME The National Discipline Scheme aims at instilling, in the younger generation, a sense of patriotism, good citizenship, self-reliance and tolerance, and strives to make them healthy, both in body and mind, through a programme of physical and mental training.
The Scheme is operating in the States/Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, Mysore and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The number of institutions covered and the children receiving training under the Scheme is 2,100 and 12,00,000 respectively.
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During 1961-62 a sum of Rs. 46,06,000 was spent on the Scheme.
With a view to imparting a uniform and systematic training to N.D.S. instructor-trainees, a Central Training institute has been established at the Sariska Palace, Alwar, with effect from October, 1960 where N.D.S. instructors are given intensive training for a period of six months. About 1,200 instructors passed out of the Training Centre during the year under
G. BAL BHAVAN AND THE NATIONAL CHILDREN'S MUSEUM To cater to the recreational and educational needs of the children of Delhi, the Government of India has undertaken as a pilot project the establishment of a Bhavan and a National Children's Museum. The Bal Bhavan is now functioning in its permanent site at Kotla Road. It is visited daily by about 350 to 400 children who participate in various activities like dance, drama, music, clay- modelling, painting etc. The Children's Railway has proved to be very popular. The open-air theatre is nearing completion and the work on the swimming pool has been taken in hand.
The National Children's Museum is a supplement to the Bal Bhavan. Revised plans for the Museum building adjacent to the Bal Bhavan are now under consideration. During the year under report the Museum ac- cepted, as a gift from the Polish Embassy, structural material and some furniture which were in the Polish Pavilion at the Indian Industries Fair. The National Children's Museum has agreed to "play host" to the Children's Carnival sponsored by the Museum of Modem Art, New York which was presented to Indian children by Mrs. Kennedy during her recent visit to the Capital. The Carnival will first be set up in Delhi and will be taken round important cities of India during 1962- 63.
H. FINANCIAL PROVISIONS The following financial provisions have been made for the schemes of physical education, games and sports, youth welfare, etc., discussed in the above paragraphs.
Provision Budget
1961-62 Provision
Scheme 1962-63
1 2 3
(A) PHYSICAL EDUCATION
1. National College of Physical
Education 19,00,000 14,00,000
2. National Physical Efficiency Drive 1,00,000 2,00,000
3. Strengthening of Physical Education
Training Institutions 1,50,000 6,00,000
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4. Promotion of Research in Physical
Education 1,65,000 3,75,000
5. Measures for Promotion of Yoga
6. Scholarships for Higher Studies in
Physical Education 15,000
7. Central Advisory Board of Physical
Education and Recreation and Other
Committees-Travelling and Daily
Allowances etc. 10,000 10,000
(B) SPORTS AND GAMES
8. National Institute of Sports 12,00,000 20,00,000
9. National Coaching Scheme 5,00,000 5,00,000
10. Grants to the National Sports
Federations 4,00,000 6,50,000
11. Construction of Stadia 4,00,000 1,50,000
12. Travelling and Daily Allowances etc.
of the Meetings of the AICS and
Miscellaneous 30,000 30,000
13. Construction of Sports Village 2,00,000
(C) LABOUR AND SOCIAL SERVICE CAMPS AND CAMPUS WORK PROJECTS
14. Labour and Social Service Camps 14,00,000 12,00,000
15. Campus Work Projects 20,00,000 25,00,000
(D). YOUTH WELFARE PROGRAMME
16. Student Tours 50,000 2,32,000
17. Youth Hostels 1,20,000 2,63,000
18. Youth Festivals 2,30,000 2,15,000
19. Youth Welfare Boards and
Committees 40,000 27,000
20. Camps 45,000 42,000
(E). 21. SCOUTING AND GUIDING 3,75,000 4,75,000
(F). 22. NATIONAL DISCIPLINE SCHEME39, 26,000 57,60,200
(G). 23. BAL BHAVAN 5,50,000 5,10,000
(H). 24. NATIONAL CHILDREN'S MUSEUM 3,00,000 5,00,000
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