15% hike in Sports allocation,Commonwealth Games to get Rs 500 cr

New Delhi, Feb 28 (UNI) Finance Minister P Chidambram today gave a substantial boost to Sports, hiking the allocation by a little more than 15 per cent to Rs 780 crore and earmarking another Rs 500 crore for the Commonwealth Games to be held here in 2010.

Out of the Rs 500 crore, the Delhi government will get Rs 350 crore while the remaining Rs 150 crore will be provided to the Sports Ministry for the Games.

It was also announced that the Centre will provide Rs 50 crore for the Commonwealth Youth Games to be held in Pune next year.

In the budget, presented in the Lok Sabha by the finance minister, the allocation for Sports and Youth Affairs Ministry has been raised by Rs 111 crore from the previous year, taking the total allocation for 2007-08 to Rs 780 crore.

Of the allocation, Rs 80 crore have been earmarked for non-plan expenditure and remaining Rs 700 crore is meant for plan expenditure.

It has been proposed that Rs 54.49 crore will be given as financial assistance to recognised national sports federations for sending their teams abroad for training and participation in international events.

Financial assistance would also be extended through the Sports Authority of India (SAI) for organising coaching camps, preparing national teams and for engaging the services of foreign coaches.

An increased allocation of Rs 181.57 crore has been earmarked for SAI for training the athletes in view of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, while Rs 3 crore has been kept for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna awards.

The finance minister said a five-year income tax holiday will be provided to two, three and four star hotels as well as convention centres with a seating capacity of not less than 3,000 to meet the estimated shortage of 20,000 rooms for the Commonwealth Games.

These hotels will have to start operations in Delhi or in adjacent areas during the period April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2010.

UNI