Odisha: Budgetary allocation for sports sector up by 8 times since 2017-18 fiscal

Bhubaneswar: With an aim to boost sports sector in Odisha, the state government has been enhancing budgetary allocations to the sector for the last few years.

The government led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has been trying its best to build sports infrastructure in Odisha. Odisha has hosted the men’s hockey world cup twice in the recent past.

Sports sector has been one of the priority areas of the state government over the last decade, said an official of the Sports and Youth Services department.

The budgetary allocation for Sports and Youth Services Department has gone up by almost 8 times from Rs 149 crore in 2017-18 financial year to Rs 1,217 crore in 2023-24 fiscal.

Creation of a robust and quality sports infrastructure constitutes a key component in the Odisha government’s long-term strategy for promoting sports. The state government has been consistently focusing on good quality sports infrastructure at various levels in Odisha in the past few years.

An amount of Rs1,044 crore has been allocated for development of sports infrastructure in Odisha, added the official.

Scientific training and coaching by professional coaches help the sportspersons to make the best use of their abilities and techniques to bring glory for the country in different competitions. A sum of Rs 30 crore has been earmarked for training and coaching under different sports disciplines, he said.

Odisha has received national and global accolades for successfully organizing various national and international sporting events in the recent past. The state co-hosted FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022 and successfully hosted the FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup for the second time in a row. A sum of Rs 24 crore has been allocated for organizing various sports competitions in Odisha, added the official.

In order to encourage the sportspersons of Odisha and motivate them for winning medals at various national and international sports competitions, a sum of Rs 10 crore has been provisioned under the scheme ‘Incentives and Awards’, he said.