NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports was today given a substantial hike of Rs 562 crore, out of which Rs 200 crore have been marked out for development of infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir, in the 2014-15 budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Parliament here.
In his budget presented in the Lok Sabha, Jaitley allocated Rs 1643 crore as plan outlay while Rs 126 crore was set aside for non-plan for a total figure of Rs 1769 crore.
The plan outlay has been increased by Rs 550 crore in the total allocation.
The allocation to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has been increased by Rs 85 crore with government setting aside Rs 405.10 crore, while the National Sports Federations have also got a substantial hike of Rs 25 crore in the assistance provided to them with Rs 185 crore being allotted to them.
However, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan’s allocation has been slashed from Rs 104.85 crore to Rs 20 crore for this year.
The government introduced a new project targeted at improving the sports scene in Jammu and Kashmir. A total of Rs 200 crore has been allocated for the enhancement of sports facility in the state.
Besides, the Minister announced Rs 100 crore for preparation of athletes who would represent India in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games (July 23 to August 3) and the Incheon Asian Games (September 19 to October 4).
The total budget set aside for sports and games this year is Rs 981.19 crore – Rs 196 crore more than previous allocation.
The Scheme for the Benefit of North Eastern Area and Sikkim, has got an allocation of Rs 192.65 crore this year as compared to Rs 109.40 crore last year.
Rs 11.60 crore has been allocated for Anti-Doping Activities, which is the same as last year. Out of this, National Dope Test Laboratory will get Rs 9 crore. -PTI