Odisha: CM announces incentives for athletes

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday announced several incentives for the athletes of the state after interactions with Sports Hostel students.

The incentives have been announced based on the feedback of the students with an aim to fulfill the needs and create enough opportunity for excellence.

The monthly allowance for girl students has been increased to Rs 500 at Sports Hostels while the allowance for boy students has been enhanced to Rs 300.

Now, athletes who win a gold medal at the national level competitions will get a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 for one year. For the silver and bronze medalists, the amount will be Rs 500 and Rs 300 respectively.

An additional monthly allowance of Rs 5,000 for one year will be given to a medal-winner if he or she manages to create a record at the national level and the record remains unbroken for one year.

Athletes who are selected for the national team will get a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 for one year.

A daily allowance of Rs 300 was also announced for athletes participating out of state at the NSF or at similar level.

A separate scheme will be formulated for Sports Departments Coaches with monetary incentives for performance enhancement, said an official release.

( With inputs from ANI )