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Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday issued a clear directive to National Sports Federations, stressing that there will be no room for deviation from an “athlete-centric” approach. Urging them to put an end to factionalism and nepotism, Mandaviya emphasised that unity and transparency within the federations are crucial for the success of India’s bid to host the 2036 Olympics.
Addressing representatives from 40 NSFs at an elaborate ceremony marking the launch of hassle-free record-keeping in Digilocker, a cloud-based platform for storage, easy-sharing and verification of documents and certificates, the minister asked the federations to get their houses in order.
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“I don’t like to interfere in NSFs but it doesn’t mean that they are allowed to deviate from the athlete-centric approach of the government,” Mandaviya said during the event, which was also attended by some athletes, including Tokyo Olympics silver-winning weightlifter Mirabai Chanu and hockey player Jarmanpreet Singh among others.
“I have spoken to various factions in different federations and I have told them to work on it and ensure that athletes don’t suffer. You have to serve the athletes and they suffer when there is factionalism. I will not allow that. NSFs have to be responsible,” the minister added.
His remarks were, in all likelihood, targeted at the power-tussle in NSFs of sports like boxing, football, wrestling and equestrian which has kept the interest of athletes in the backfoot.
The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) is currently run by an ad-hoc committee while matters related to football and equestrian’s current administration are in court. The mess in the Wrestling Federation was recently solved after the sports ministry lifted the suspension imposed on it for violation of the sports code.
Assuring all possible infrastructural and financial support to the NSFs, including office space in the national capital, the minister, however, issued a stern warning against nepotism in NSFs.
“You will get all the support from the ministry. As I had said (earlier), even office space will be provided by the ministry. 18 rooms are ready at the JLN (Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium). You just have to apply, please do it,” said Mandaviya.
“Lekin bhai-bhatija nahi chalega (But nepotism will not be allowed). Sports administration is not done like that. The other day I met an official who had listed his peon as his secretary. Things don’t work like that,” he added.
Urging all NSFs to present a united front for international bodies considering India’s intention to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games besides submitting a letter of intent to host the 2036 Olympics, Madaviya said, “At international platforms, we should be united. We have to ensure that. We have to give our best efforts to bring the 2036 Olympics to India. And we have to get the 2030 CWG.”
Digitise certificates of sportspersons within one year
The minister said it would be mandatory for all sports federations to digitise certificates and other essential documents of sportspersons within the next one year. Developed by Digital India Corporation (DIC), under the Ministry of Electronics and IT, Digilocker is a cloud-based platform for storage, and verification of documents and certificates.
The Digilocker was earlier launched by Mandaviya’s predecessor Anurag Thakur last year and he had set the beginning of this year as the deadline to go fully digital in record-keeping.
While very little has been done towards the digitisation push, Mandaviya said it will be mandatory for all federations to digitise all past certificates, right down to the district level, by the end of this year.
“An athlete, a young girl, had once to me with tears in her eyes to say that she missed a job opportunity because her certificate was considered unverified and she failed to obtain an original from the national federation,” Mandaviya recalled.
“This should not happen. I want to tell everyone that Digilocker is compulsory. I won’t allow exploitation,” he said.
Visibly excited about the technological advancement, Olympic medallist Chanu said that the initiative will be beneficial for athletes, who can now travel abroad for training and competitions without carrying their physical certificates.
“When we train and go abroad, we need these documents, and it is always not possible to carry them. Digilocker solves a lot of logistical issues. We stay away from home and have to call for certificates (participation and merit) at times. I am very happy with the initiative,” she said.
Mandaviya further said he wanted the digitisation process to be so successful that an Olympic medal winner does not have to fill an application form to claim financial benefits after working so hard to finish on the podium.
“I was told they have to fill in application forms. I thought why should it need an application? The world has seen them win a medal, why should that need a verification? I want athletes to come to my office and go back with the prize money in their bank accounts. We have to reform,” he said.
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