The criteria for selecting awardees for various National sports awards have been amended to bring in more transparency and remove unnecessary restrictions.
The Union Sports Ministry which selects sportspersons and coaches every year for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna and Dronacharya awards, among others, stated in a release on Wednesday that a committee constituted in August 2009 had made recommendations for rationalisation of the existing schemes.
The following are the major amendments to be made in the schemes for National sports awards:
There will only be one Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in a year to be given to an individual sportsperson. This condition could be relaxed only in exceptional circumstances, say winning of an Olympic medal.
The principle of one award per discipline in the case of Arjuna Award has been removed for team sports and across gender. More than 15 awards could be given with proper justification and the approval of the Sports Minister.
The three-year limitation for conferment of Arjuna Award posthumously has been removed.
In respect of Dronacharya Award, out of five awards, two have been earmarked for lifetime contribution in coaching. The current restrictive clause that the coach should have coached the athlete during the immediate two years preceding the performance has been removed.
Overall contribution
An overall contribution of the coach in the outstanding achievements of the athlete would now be taken into consideration. The coach would be expected to submit an affidavit confirming the details of the periods during which he or she had coached the athlete in question.
The Union Government will have the right to nominate any deserving sportsperson/coach in all categories of the National sports awards, in case such persons have been left out by the nominating agencies.
The nominating agencies would now be required to certify in the nomination forms that the nominees are clear from vigilance/disciplinary proceedings and are not involved in criminal acts. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) may be asked to carry out a verification of character and antecedents of recommended persons, if needed, by taking the help of the police.
