 PHYSICAL EDUCATION, SPORTS 
AND YOUTH SERVICES

Since the formulation of the Sixth Five-Year Plan (1980-85), the following new developments have taken place which have an important bearing on the formulation of the Seventh Five-Year Plan for the promotion of sports and games in the country.

i) Adoption by the Government of India of the Resolution of the Na- tional Sports Policy.

The Government of India adopted recently, with the support of the state Governments, the Government Resolution on National Sports Policy and laid it on the Tables of the two Houses of Parliament on the 21st August, 1984. the policy statements embodied in the resolution, take the following factors into account.

a) Importance of participation in sports and physical education activ- ities for good health, a high degree of physical fitness, increase in individual productivity and its value as a means of beneficial recrea- tion promoting social harmony and discipline;

b) Recognition of the need of ever citizen, irrespective of age and sex, to participate in and enjoy games, sports and recreational activ- ities;

c) Provision of the necessary sports facilities and infrastructure on a large scale to fulfil the need of every citizen recognised above;

d) Recognition of the necessity of raising national standards in games and sport so that our sports-men and Women acquit themselves credita- bly in international sports competitions;

e) Provision of facilities for spotting and nurturing, at a young age, talented boys and girls and to provide them coaching training and nutrition required to meet the necessity recognised above.

f) Improvement and sustaining of sports consciousness amongst masses so that they are encouraged to participate in sports activities made possible by the above provision.

In order to make implementation of the provisions of the national sports policy a reality, the Resolution makes it the duty of the central and state governments to accord a very high priority to promo- tion of sports in the process of all round development.

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(ii) Creation of an independent Department of Sports in the Central Government

An independent Department of Sports was set up in the Government two years ago indicating the desire of the Government that the promotion of sports and games should receives special attention in the Central Government and that such promotion ought to be assigned an altogether higher priority in the process of national development as later clear- ly stated in the Resolution on National Sports Policy.

(iii) Hosting the IX Asian Games by India

The IX Asian Games were held in Delhi in a very successful manner and have created a very favourable climate for promotion of sports and games in the country and have generated a great deal of self-confi- dence in the matter of sports organisation within the country.

(iv) Establishment of Sports Authority of India

The Sports Authority of India has been set up with wide powers to develop sports in the country and to manage infrastructure facilities created for Asian 1982.

(v) Finalisation by the National Development Council of the Approach in the Seventh Five Year Plan (1985-90)

Increase in productivity is one of the three main trusts of the Seventh Five Year Plan according to the Approach Paper on human resources development.

2. The above then are the important developments which have taken place since the finalization of the Sixth Five-Year Plan for Sports and Games. These provide indicators in the light of which the Seventh Five year Plan for sports and games should be formulated and imple- mented. The Seventh Plan provides an immediate opportunity to imple- ment the policy statements contained in the Resolution of National Sports Policy by expanding the continuing schemes and introducing new schemes during the Seventh Plan aimed at fulfillment of the objects of the national Sports Policy in a phased manner. Radically greater central investment in the promotion of sports and games would be required in the seventh Plan as compared to the Sixth Five-Year Plan if even a beginning is to be made in the implementation of the Nation- al Sports Policy. The following factors are relevant in this context:

i) Investments to be made in the seventh Plan on the promotion of sports and games, including physical education, have to be consistent with the duty cast, inter-alia, on the central government to accord to sports and physical education a very high priority in the process of all round development;

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ii) Investment in the promotion of sports and physical education, being investment in health, fitness, individual productivity and social well-being of the people, is really for the up gradation of our human resources of development. Adequate investments for the promotion of sports and physical education are, therefore, needed to increase our individual and collective productivity;

iii) Development of human resources can be considered to have various parameters such as education, health, nutrition, vocational training etc. One of the important parameters on which stress has not been laid so far in the improvement of physical efficiency of the individual which has a positive bearing on productivity in all walks of life. participation in sports activities helps build not only greater physi- cal efficiency but also those fighting qualities of the mind which propel the individual towards achievement and greater output.

iv) Investments in the promotion of sports, physical education and youth activities in the preceding plans have been negligible. The allocations made in the Sixth Five year for the promotion of sports, physical education and youth activities should not, therefore, be taken as the base for considering allocations to be made in the sev- enth Five Year Plan for these activities in the light of recently altered priority for sports.

v) Investments proposed for the Seventh Five Year Plan in the field of sports and games take into account the likely constraints of resources on the Seventh Plan as a whole and represent, therefore, only the first phase of promotion of these activities which must go on for Several plans until a plateau has been reached. The Investment propos- als are thus essentially modest.

vi) In sum, adequate investment ought to be made in the seventh Plan keeping in view the very high priority now attached for the first time to the promotion of sports and physical education, the thrust of the Approach Paper towards greater productivity and the urgent need to upgrade our human resources.

3. The thrust of the existing programmes has been on broad basing of our sports and games at the grassroots level. In our programmes for the Seventh Five Year Plan, the main thrust will continue to be on these very basics. However, attention is also proposed to be paid to raising of our standards in games and sports and on sporting and nurturing of talent through intensified and now coaching schemes. All this would imply:

i) Creation of modest sports infrastructure of a utilitarian variety mainly at the grass-roots.

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ii) Strengthening of coaching and training arrangement both at the grass-roots and at advanced coaching centres including universities and colleges.

iii) Schemes of promotion of sports for women in rural areas.

iv) Schemes for talent search and nurturing the talent identified.

v) Physical fitness programmes.

vi) Providing assistance to national sports federation ad sports clubs for the promotion of their activities.

vii) Provision of modern track and field facilities on a regional basis.

viii) Adoption of sports schools and setting up of sports hotels.

ix) Research and development, particularly in the field of sports sciences.

x) Schemes of sports scholarships for promising boys and girls and other talented sportsmen and women.

xi) Schemes aimed at realisation of the concept of "Sports for All".

xii) Provision of institutional support for the above activities.

Part I : CONTINUING SCHEMES

i) Netaji Subhash national Institute of Sports and the National Coach- ing Scheme

The National Institute of Sports at Patiala directly and through its regional centres at Calcutta and Bangalore and by implementation of the Regional Coaching Scheme has been making significant contribution towards raising the standard of games and sports in the country and providing facilities for imparting advanced coaching in various games and sports. For the fulfillment of these purposes, it has been under- taking coaching activities through 25 regional coaching centres all over the country. It has been providing training and coaching to national teams in different sports disciplines. To make these activi- ties possible, it has been producing coaches by running diploma courses both at Patiala and in its regional centres at Bangalore and Calcutta. It has also been creating infrastructure of international standards at Patiala and the regional centres so that advanced coach- ing can be imparted according to international standards. So far, it has produced over 6000 coaches by award of diplomas and over 8000 sports instructors through short-term certificate courses. The insti- tute at present has an authorised cadre strength of 750 coaches which are employed mainly in the regional coaching centres or are attached to Nehru Yuvak Kendras.

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In the Seventh Five Year Plan, the Institute proposes to produce about 500 additional qualified coaches. It propose to employ about 1500 additional coaches in the regional coaching scheme, Nehru Yuvak Ken- dras and Field Stations and to increase the number of regional coach- ing centres from 25 to 100. The additional coaches are sought to be produced by covering the different regions of the country by estab- lishment of 4 regional centres on the lines of the East Centre, Cal- cutta and South Centre at Bangalore and also to strengthen the two centres last named. The centres would also serve as nuclei in the regions for the highest caliber of coaching. To upgrade the sports standards in universities, it is proposed to establish 100 field stations with 5 coaches in each university. Besides, the institute proposes to strengthen the sports infrastructure at Patiala, bangalore and Calcutta and to provide the necessary infrastructure in the new regional centres to be set up. The establishment of a High Altitude Training Centre, a Winter Sports Centre and a Water Sports Complex is also proposed. The Institute has already started a faculty of sports sciences consisting of 10 departments and it is proposed to strengthen these departments substantially during the Seventh Five Year Plan.

Besides these basic functions mentioned above, the Institute has also been assigned by the Government the responsibility of organising and running Rural Sports Tournaments, Women Sports Festival and the Na- tional Talent Search Scholarship Scheme.

ii) Grants to National Sports Federations

This scheme aims at providing financial assistance to autonomous national sports federations for financing coaching camps for prepara- tion of national teams for international events, passage cost for the travel of national teams aboard, holding of international tournaments in India, organisation of national championships at the senior, junior and sub-junior levels, and also some grants for purchase of non-ex- pendable equipment.

With increased tempo of sports activities in the country, it is pro- posed to substantially increase the Plan allocation for the provision of grants to the federations.

iii) Grants in States Sports Councils

This scheme is crucial to the broad-based of sports in the country and for involving an ever-increasing number of people in the sports activ- ities at the grass-roots level. This scheme provides for assistance to State Governments and States Sports Councils on a matching basis for creation of utilitarian playfields, sports complexes and stadia in villages, towns and State capitals. It also includes holding of coach- ing camps for boys and girls at the State level, establishment and maintenance of Rural Sports Centres and purchase of sports equipment. This scheme is considered most vital for achieving the objects of the National Sports Policy and a very substantial increase has, therefore, been proposed in the Plan allocations.

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vi) National Sports Organisation

This scheme aims at raising the standards of sports in universities and colleges. The three aspects of the scheme are - financial assist- ance to the UGC for creation of sports infrastructure in the universi- ties and colleges, financial assistance to the Association of Indian Universities for providing coaching facilities to students and for holding tournaments at the college and university level and financial assistance to the National Institute of Sports for awarding Sports Scholarships to talented students.

Sports infrastructure in the universities and colleges at present is modest and the scheme has functioned very modestly so far. A notable increase in allocation for infrastructure is, therefore, proposed. Similarly, it is proposed to augment financial assistance for coaching and holding of tournaments as also for raising the number of sports scholarships being offered to students from 100 to 200 and their value from Rs.1200 to Rs.2400 per annum. Provision has been proposed accord- ingly.

Other Continuing Schemes

The following other continuing schemes are also proposed to be strengthened.

i) Promotion of sports for women;

ii) Exchange of sports experts and teams under bilateral exchange programmes with foreign countries,

iii) National Physical Fitness Programme; and

iv) Scheme of National sports Talent Search Scholarship. In particu- lar, it is proposed to increase the number of national level scholar- ships from 400 t 500 and their value from Rs.900 to Rs.1200 per annum. Similarly, it is proposed to increase State level scholarships from 800 to 1200 and their value from Rs.600 to Rs.900 per annum.

Part II : NEW SCHEMES

i) Plan Schemes of Sports Authority of India

The Sports Authority of India has been set up in the last year of the Sixth Plan and its Plan activities will start from the Seventh Five Year Plan. It is intended that initially it should cover these areas of sports promotion which have not been attended to so far or have been attended to in a very marginal way such as spotting and nurturing of sports talent in the school system, realisation of the concept of "Sports for All" by making facilities available to the extent possible, for the public at large as distinct from high level competitors, provision of financial assistance to scholars to conduct research in sports sciences and the science of sports infrastructure,

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creation of a central pool of sports equipment which can be loaned to institutions for holding tournaments, a concerted effort to promote sports consciousness and provision of buildings for its own use as a new organisation. In fulfillment of these programmes certain schemes have been proposed, the more important of which are mentioned below:

i) Sports talent search contest for the very young (7 to 12 years)

This will take place in eight most popular sports. The winners in the contest will be provided a scholarship and will be eligible for admis- sion in schools proposed to be adopted by SAI for special promotion of sports.

ii) Adoption of Schools

SAI proposes to select 100 schools during the next five years which have most of the infrastructure already available, to provide each such school with a one-time grant of Rs. 5 lakhs for the completion of sports facilities, to bear expenses on providing three coaches in each such school and thus to promote spotting and nurturing of talent in such institutions. The winners of the sports talent search context will be eligible for admission in these schools on a preferential basis.

iii) Holding of National Physical Fitness Festivals

These festivals for the common man are proposed to be held in State capitals, the expenses being shared between the State Government concerned and SAI. The festivals will take place during a national physical fitness week to be organised by SAI and are expected to promote fitness consciousness. The target age groups will be 35 years and above.

iv) Housing for Staff

The staff of Sports Authority of India is not entitled to Government accommodation and it would be necessary to develop a housing colony for the staff. A suitable provision for this purpose has been pro- posed.

v) Fellowships for research in sports science, sports infrastructure and sports equipment

No such fellowships for the purposes mentioned above are available at present from any source. In view of this, SAI propose to offer 60 fellowships per annum of the value of Rs.2000 per month.

vi) Recreation centres in metropolitan cities

It is proposed to set up two to three sports recreation centres for the general public in metropolitan cities during the Seventh Plan period. The states will either contribute the land or lease it out at a nominal rent. A suitable provision has been proposed for this pur- pose.

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Other Schemes of SAI include a central pool of technical sports equip- ment, promotion of sports like sailing, rowing, aerosports, equestrian and shooting, the initial equipment for which is expensive. These sports cannot be promoted without substantial initial investment. It is also proposed to set up one sports medical centre per State.

(2) Grants to voluntary sports clubs/organisations

Owing to high cost of equipment and cost of maintenance, neighbourhood clubs are fast dying out. Such clubs, however form the very basis of amateur sports. It is, therefore, proposed to provide bona fide neigh- bourhood sports clubs with financial assistance so that voluntary sports activity at the club level is resumed. To begin with a modest provision has been proposed in the Seventh Five Year Plan.

(3) Provision of synthetic track and astroturf for hockey fields one in each region