Himachal Pradesh increase prize money, diet allowance for sportspersons

The Himachal Pradesh government increased the prize money of sportspersons in order to promote sports in the Himalayan state as part of its revised sports policy.

From now onwards, the gold medal winners of international competitions like the Olympics, Winter Olympics, Paralympic Games, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games will receive a cash prize of INR 5 crore from INR 3 crore.

Similarly, the prize money for the silver medallists has been raised to INR 3 crore from INR 2 crore, while the bronze medal winners will receive INR 2 crore instead of INR 1 crore.

A notification regarding the increase in prize money has been issued by the office of Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu in Shimla on Saturday.

In the meantime, the prize money for gold medal winners in the Asian Games and Para Asian Games has been increased from INR 50 lakh to INR 4 crore.

Silver medal winners, on the other hand, will now receive INR 2.50 crore instead of INR 30 lakh, and bronze medal winners will receive INR 1.50 crore instead of INR 20 lakh.

"Additionally, athletes who achieve glory in the Commonwealth Games and Para Commonwealth Games will also benefit from the revised prize scheme. In showcasing the state government’s commitment to promoting sports activities, the prize money for gold medal winners has been increased from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 3 crore, silver medal winners from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 2 crore, and bronze medal winners from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 1 crore," the statement issued by the CM's office stated.

Diet allowance increased

The state has also significantly increased diet allowances and upgraded travel provisions for the state's sportspersons.

For state-level events, the diet money has been increased from INR 240 to INR 400, while for district-level events, it stands at INR 300, and INR 240 for block-level events within the state. Athletes participating in events outside the state would now get INR 500 as diet money. Apart from this athletes residing in sports hostels would now receive INR 250 up to the elementary education level and INR 400 for others.

The state government has also enhanced travel provisions for athletes participating in sports events outside the state. He said that athletes travelling up to a distance of 200 kilometres would now be provided with AC-3 Tier train fare, while those travelling more than 200 kilometres would be eligible for economy class airfare.

The latest changes were made in the budget passed in March this year and was notified last week.