SAI sets Jan 31 deadline for TOPS athletes to furnish bills, Utilisation Certificates | More sports News – Times of India
NEW DELHI: The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has asked close to 150 athletes, who received funds under TOP Scheme, to submit bills and furnish Utilisation Certificates (UCs) by January 31, failing which their funding will be stopped.
The deadline was set by SAI’s Mission Olympic Cell (MOC), which took the decision in a recent meeting as more than Rs 7 crore, given to the athletes under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) since 2014, is still unaccounted for.
According to a SAI source, there are many prominent names among the athletes who are yet to furnish their bills.
“This step was necessary as many top athletes are yet to submit their bills. The money belongs to the taxpayers and the athletes are bound to furnish details about how they have utilised it,” a SAI source told PTI.
“The MOC has asked all those athletes who have not submitted their bills and UCs to do the same before January 31. If they fail to do so, future financial assistance from TOPS may be stopped.”
“There are even some athletes who were part of the Rio Olympics and have retired now. Despite repeated reminders through respective National Sports Federations (NSFs), they have not submitted their bills, which is unethical,” the source added.
The official, however, did not disclose the name of the athletes.
The Sports Ministry started the TOPS program in 2014 and is aimed at providing financial assistance to India’s top athletes in their preparation for Olympics and Paralympics.
The scheme provides for requisite support to probable athletes, including foreign training, international competition, equipment and coaching camp besides monthly stipend of Rs 50,000.
The scheme currently supports 104 TOPS Core Group athletes across 13 sports disciplines apart from hockey teams (both men and women) and 269 Development Group athletes across 12 sports disciplines.
The deadline was set by SAI’s Mission Olympic Cell (MOC), which took the decision in a recent meeting as more than Rs 7 crore, given to the athletes under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) since 2014, is still unaccounted for.
According to a SAI source, there are many prominent names among the athletes who are yet to furnish their bills.
“This step was necessary as many top athletes are yet to submit their bills. The money belongs to the taxpayers and the athletes are bound to furnish details about how they have utilised it,” a SAI source told PTI.
“The MOC has asked all those athletes who have not submitted their bills and UCs to do the same before January 31. If they fail to do so, future financial assistance from TOPS may be stopped.”
“There are even some athletes who were part of the Rio Olympics and have retired now. Despite repeated reminders through respective National Sports Federations (NSFs), they have not submitted their bills, which is unethical,” the source added.
The official, however, did not disclose the name of the athletes.
The Sports Ministry started the TOPS program in 2014 and is aimed at providing financial assistance to India’s top athletes in their preparation for Olympics and Paralympics.
The scheme provides for requisite support to probable athletes, including foreign training, international competition, equipment and coaching camp besides monthly stipend of Rs 50,000.
The scheme currently supports 104 TOPS Core Group athletes across 13 sports disciplines apart from hockey teams (both men and women) and 269 Development Group athletes across 12 sports disciplines.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
Denial of responsibility! NewsUpdate is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
