Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman on Monday presented her third budget of her tenure. Sitharaman on Monday presented the Union budget through made in India tablet. It was the first time when no paper was used to present the Union budget of India in the parliament. While sectors like healthcare, railways, and infrastructure got a big slab from the budget, the sports sector lost Rs 230 crore money as compared to last time.
As per reports, the Central government allocated Rs.2,596.14 crore to sports budget for the next financial year 2021-22, less by Rs.230.78 crore. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has been allocated Rs.660.41 crore, which is an increase from the Rs.500 crore that was allocated in the last budget.
The Sports Ministry’s Khelo India, on the other hand, has had its allocation slashed to 657.71 crores from Rs 890.42 crore allocated in the 2020-21 budget. Assistance to the National Sports Federations, however, has been increased by Rs.35 crore. This year’s budget is Rs.280 crore while last year’s was Rs.245 crore.
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The year 2021 is an Olympic year due to the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Olympics was initially scheduled to be held from July 24 to August 9 last year but was postponed in March 2020 to July 23 to August 8 this year.
The budget allocated for renovation and maintenance of the 2010 Commonwealth Games stadia has been reduced by Rs.66 crore to Rs 30 crore for the next financial year.