420 Coaches Appointment On Contract/Deputation Basis Undertaken In Sports Authority of India: Anurag Thakur

‘Sports’ being a state subject, the responsibility for promotion/development of sports, including coaching and creation of sports infrastructure, primarily rests with the respective State/UT Governments. The Central Government supplements their efforts through its various schemes, viz. Khelo India Scheme and sports promotional schemes run by the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

Further, good coaches are undoubtedly required in addition to other support systems, including sports infrastructure. Accordingly, as a part of the efforts to provide 360 degree support to the athletes preparing for important national and international competitions, including Olympics 2024 and 2028, recruitment/appointment of 420 coaches on contract/deputation basis have been recently undertaken in the Sports Authority of India (SAI), as per the details below:

1) 101 Coaches were selected on deputation;

2) 103 Coaches on contract basis;

3) 212 Coaches in the grade of Assistant Coach on contract basis;

4) 04 Coaches in the grade of Chief Coach on contract basis.

Currently, 966 coaches are working in SAI, out of which 134 women coaches are working on regular basis and 80 women coaches are working on contract basis.

Further, under the Khelo India Scheme, an effective sports training mechanism has been worked out wherein “Past Champion Athletes” are engaged as Coaches at the Khelo India Centres. An annual recurring grant of ₹ 5 lakh per discipline is fixed for remuneration, purchase of sports equipment, sports kit, competition exposure, etc. out of which ₹ 3 lakh is mandatorily earmarked for the remuneration of Past Champion Athlete at the rate of ₹ 25,000 per month. At present, 102 Past Champion Athletes have been engaged in 91 Khelo India Centres, out of which, 10 are women.