NEW DELHI: The Union Sports Ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Thermal Power Corporation Foundation and Rural Electrification Corporation Foundation on Wednesday for the development of sports in India.
The NTPC will extend a financial support of Rs 115 crores over the next 5 years for the development of archery discipline in India. REC Foundation has committed Rs 100 cr over 3 years to support women’s Hockey, athletics and boxing. The support towards NSDF has come through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) mandate.
Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, Union Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy RK Singh, CMD of REC Vivek Kumar Dewangan, 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, Thakur 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 (National Sports Development Fund), to adopt an athlete, a sport and an academy. Now, both NTPC and REC have adopted both sports and athletes."
Elaborating on the MoU RK Singh said, "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 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.
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