National Sports Development Fund inks historic MOU with NTPC and REC for support of Rs 215 Crores for development of sports in India
This MoU will help in
building soft power of India: Anurag Thakur
Creating sports culture in the country is part of Nation building: RK Singh
In the
presence of Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports Anurag Singh
Thakur and Union Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy Sh. RK Singh,
the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) of Department of Sports, Ministry
of Youth Affairs and Sports signed an historic Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with two Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) with NTPC (National
Thermal Power Corporation) Foundation and REC (Rural Electrification
Corporation) Foundation today in New Delhi for development of sports in India.
The financial support to be given by NTPC is Rs 115
Crores over the next 5 years and they will be supporting Archery discipline in
India. REC Foundation has also committed an amount of Rs 100 Crores over 3
years to support Women’s Hockey, Athletics and Boxing. The support towards NSDF
has come through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) mandate.
CMD of REC Vivek Kumar Dewangan and CMD NTPC Gurdeep
Singh, DG SAI Sandip Pradhan, as well as athletes and coaches from Archery,
Boxing, Hockey and Athletics disciplines, including Abhishek Verma (Compound
Archery), Savita Punia (Women's Hockey), Amit Panghal (Men's Boxing) and
Avinash Sable (Men's 3000m Steeplechase) were also present on this occasion.
Speaking on the occasion Anurag Thakur said that two PSUs
from the Power Ministry have contributed a total of Rs 215 crore for the
development of sports , making it an historic occasion. This contribution by
the Power Ministry will go a long way to energise the sports sector, he
said. "Everyone, from the corporates to individuals and from various
institutions to States, should work together as a team. This MoU signing will
give a big motivation to our athletes.” Thakur added.
"Earlier, I had urged online donations at NSDF, to
adopt an athlete, a sport and an academy. Now, both NTPC and REC have adopted
both sports and athletes. This has all happened because of the vision of the
Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi. There are many PSUs but the ones
who come forward help in building soft power of India, help athletes keep away
from addiction and also motivate them to perform higher at the
international stage," added Thakur.
The support from
NTPC and REC Foundation will cover the following: Grassroots development of the
sports, training of identified talent, training of elite talent, coach
development, sports science support, advance training and more.
Elaborating on the MoU signed, RK Singh mentioned,
"We from the Power Ministry are extremely happy to have done something for
the further development of sports in India, through NTPC and REC. We have
adopted just a few sports disciplines today but going forward, we want to adopt
more disciplines and continue in the development of more facilities and
coaches. We promise that our Ministry will be associated in doing all possible
in further development of sports in the country. Creating sports culture in the
country is part of Nation building. "
The National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) was
established in 1998 under the Charitable Endowments Act 1890 and was notified
by the Government of India in November, 1998. The purpose of the fund is to
impart momentum and flexibility to assisting the cause of sports in India. It
helps sportspersons excel by providing them with varied opportunities to
train under coaches of international repute, provide financial assistance for
development of infrastructure and other activities for promotion of sports.
.