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3.13 YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS

Introduction

3.13.1 Youth constitute the most creative segment of any society. Their role and contribution are vital to all societies and more so in a country like India with wide social, cultural and other demographic diversities. Youth constitute about 34% of the total population of India. The need and importance of physical education for health and physical fitness with a view to increasing individual productivity, and the value of sports as a means of recreation and with a potential for promoting social harmony and discipline are well recognised.

YOUTH AFFAIRS : Achievements Since Independence:

3.13.2 The importance of youth in national development has been a recurring theme in all Five Year Plans. The National Discipline Scheme introduced in the Second Plan continued in the Third Plan. The Fourth Plan gave special emphasis on the needs of the youth and training of youth leadership. Support was provided to voluntary organisations to participate in youth development programmes. Community Service was developed as an integral part of the curriculum for education, instruction and training of all students enrolled in educational institutions.

3.13.3 During the Fifth Plan, expansion and strengthening of National Service Scheme and Nehru Yuva Kendras received emphasis. National Service Volunteer Scheme was launched. In the Sixth Plan an effort was made to effect coordination of different programmes. The services of youth were increasingly utilized for conservation of environment and generation of mass awareness and community education programmes. A National Youth Policy was framed in the Seventh Five Year Plan and accordingly a Plan of Action was formulated in 1992.

3.13.4 The main schemes in the Seventh Plan for student youth related to Bharat Scouts and Guides, National Service Scheme and National Service Volunteer Scheme. At the end of the Seventh Plan enrolment in these schemes was: NSS - 10 lakhs, Scouts and Guides - 22 lakhs and NSVS - 3000. Considering the large number of school and college students this coverage was inadequate.

3.13.5 During the VII Plan for non-student youth the main schemes were Nehru Yuva Kendras the number of which increased to 398 and Youth Clubs where the increase in number was from 25,000 to 50,000. The Programme Evaluation Organisation of the Planning Commission carried out an evaluation of the programmes. The evaluation indicates some inadequacies such as disparities in service conditions of youth coordinators, lack of proper linkages with development activities of their departments etc. Steps were initiated to take up National Integration Programmes, particularly in the north-east and the border areas. National Youth Awards were also instituted.

Eighth Plan Performance Review

3.13.6 The Eighth Five Year Plan and the National Youth Policy had interalia emphasized (i) organising the youth force for the promotion of national and cultural integration; (ii) promoting awareness and involvement of youth in social programmes pertaining to literacy, environment, health and family welfare, and community development; (iii) fostering and developing interaction between youth from different parts of the country specially the isolated border and tribal areas; (iv) promoting education and self-employment capability of the rural youth, especially of girls and youth in backward areas; (v) developing the interest of youth in adventure and other outdoor activities; and (vi) providing opportunities for leadership training.

3.13.7 The Department of Youth Affairs and Sports made major strides during the VIII Plan period. The number of Nehru Yuva Kendra went up from 398 to 499. Number of Youth Clubs affiliated to Nehru Yuva Sangathan went up to 1,64,000 by the end of the VIII Plan Period. The number of Volunteers enrolled under National Service Scheme went up to 13 lakhs during the VIII Plan period covering 158 universities, 7,000 colleges and +2 institutions. A new scheme for the setting up of "Youth Development Centres" for a group of ten villages was introduced during the VIII Plan period. These Centres are responsible for creation of facilities for information, sports, training and for taking up youth programmes for rural youth. A one time financial assistance of Rs.30,000/- is given to each Centre to cater to its requirements of equipment and furniture etc. 340 such Centres were assisted during the VIII Plan period.

3.13.8 The Government of India constituted a Committee for National Youth Programme (CONYP) in pursuance of National Youth Policy. National Youth Festivals (Yuva Utsav) were organised every year since 1995. Outstanding individuals and organisations were rewarded. Work on a new National Youth Policy was initiated during 1996-97.

3.13.9 During the Eighth Plan, the field operations of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan were extended to provide more opportunities to the rural youth. New programmes, namely, Health Awareness Units, Panchayati Raj Training, Self-Employed Workers Association Kendras etc. were introduced. Training programmes were organised by NYKS on health awareness in many villages of the country. NYKS also took up `Youth Against AIDS' campaign in several districts in addition to `Mass Awareness Generation Campaign on GATT'. Watershed Management and Wasteland Development Programmes were integrated into NSS programmes under "Youth for Sustainable Development".State level adventure academies were established in Gujarat and Tripura. Aerosports and Water sports were promoted in several states. Public trusts and NGOs provided vocational training programmes to promote self-employment for youth. So far 50 Youth Hostels have been commissioned and 23 are under various stages of construction.

Ninth Plan Thrust

Harnessing Yuva Shakti

3.13.10 The National Agenda for Governance states : "Our youth are the strength of the family, village, locality and the community, they are also the future of our nation. We will take all necessary steps to mobilise this most idealistic, inspired and energetic section of our society in the mission of nation- building. For this purpose, we shall build national consensus for the creation of a National Reconstruction Corps aimed at environmental protection, ecological tasks, reclamation of waste land, including afforestation, and for spreading literacy. We will have a time-bound programme for promotion of sports."

Action Plan

New thrust areas of youth programmes will focus on harnessing yuva shakti by taking into consideration the following:

3.13.11 A new scheme of National Reconstruction Corps (NRC) will be formulated aiming at environmental protection, ecological tasks, reclamation of waste land, including afforestation, spreading literacy and other community based nation building activities. Youth volunteers to be enrolled as members of NRC will be given a honorarium and will simultaneously be given vocational and enterprise development training, enabling them to take up self employment ventures. A national level apex organisation for rendering technical and financial assistance to youth for setting up micro enterprises for self employment will be set up.

3.13.12 The Department of Youth Affairs and Sports as a nodal agency for extending necessary support and dissemination of information to the targetted youth, will work out modalities of networking with other Ministries/Departments for effective and efficient utilization of resources. The training of youth will be development-oriented in order to provide facilities to those who need them. Market surveys on specific skills will be conducted for specific product-oriented training. Self- employment and entrepreneurship development will be emphasized.

3.13.13 Community polytechnics and NGOs will be involved extensively in vocational training programmes of NYKS in order to provide access to rural and marginalised youth. Assistance to Voluntary Organisations and Self-Help Groups working in the field of Youth programmes will be encouraged. Voluntary Organisations will be encouraged to work in the field of adolescent youth.

3.13.14 The adolescent youth will receive particular attention. A concerted effort will be undertaken to build for adolescents a relatively stable place in society so as to facilitate their healthy development.

3.13.15 Youth with special needs will receive priority attention. Programmes for young people with physical and mental disabilities, slow learners, youth prone to social deviance, youth with drug addiction and HIV seropositives will be further strengthened and coordinated.

3.13.16 Youth Clubs will be further strengthened. The aim will be to have a club in each village, which will be of multi- dimensional character, so as to address the problems of youth and channelise their energy for productive endeavour and good citizenship.

Sports Achievements Since Independence

3.13.17 Physical education, games and sports and yoga in educational institutions were promoted right from the beginning of the planning era. During the Second Five Year Plan, National College of Physical Education and National Institute of Sports were established. Facilities for coaching of games and rural sports were expanded. In the Sixth Plan, spotting and nurturing of talent was emphasized. In the Seventh Plan emphasis was given to adventure sports. Infrastructural development was taken up for the purpose. The Sports Authority of India implemented a number of programmes such as training of coaches, establishment of centres for sports medicine etc. On the basis of the National Sports Policy framed during the Seventh Five Year Plan, an action plan was formulated in 1992.

3.13.18 The Asian Games 1982 gave a new impetus to sports and games. The implementation of the National Sports Policy, 1984 was taken up. The policy empasized importance of health and physical fitness through physical education and participation in sports; to achieve these, the desirability of creating infrastructure and facilities were emphasized. Sports Authority of India implemented the following schemes: (i) Under the National Physical Fitness Scheme. a national level display `Bharatiyam' with 50,000 children participating was staged in 1989. (ii) In 1989 the Sports Project Development Areas Scheme was introduced to provide infrastructural facilities for training, coaching and coordinating competitions. Each SPDA covers 80-100 development blocks. So far 25 SPDAs have been sanctioned. (iii) About 8000 coaches were trained under National Coaching Scheme through different centres of the Netaji Subhash National Institute of Sports. Of these, more than 1600 have been deployed. (iv) Sports talent from tribal, coastal, hilly and far-flung areas of the country was scouted under the Special Area Games and trained in competitive games. Archery and Watersports centres were established under the scheme.

3.13.19 The Department of Sports continued to implement the schemes of the National Sports Organisation which included creation of sports infrastructure in colleges and universities with assistance made available through the UGC, financial assistance to sports clubs, and scholarships to women for promotion of sports among them.

3.13.20 In physical education, the infrastructure consists of Laxmibai National Institute of Physical Education, Gwalior, Regional Centre at Tiruvananthapuram and about 200 colleges of physical education.

Plan Performance Review

3.13.21 The thrust areas of the VIII Plan as also the Plan of Action (POA 1992) for Sports Policy interalia emphasized (i) creation of desired sports climate in the country and generating conscious responsibility in every citizen to keep physically fit and participate in games and sports; (ii) introduction of sports and physical education in schools, creation and improvement of facilities beginning with primary and secondary schools and ending at college level with networking between different levels; (iii) adoption of scientific approach including sports physiology, sports psychology, sports medicine and balanced nutrition to enhance sports potential; (iv) participation of State Governments in developing comprehensive plan for development of sports; (v) promotion of sports and physical education among girls and marginalised populations; (vi) identifying talent and training in sports; (vii) making National Federations financially autonomous and encouraging public to invest in sports by giving them incentives like tax rebate and relaxation in import duty etc.

3.13.22 Creation of lot of sports infrastructure and laying of synthetic tracks and surfaces have been undertaken during the Plan. Many rural schools have been assisted for development of playfields and sports equipment. Infrastructural facilities have also been created in a number of colleges and universities. Prize money is given to winning schools at district level tournaments. Talented school children in the age group 9-12 years are identified. Special training is imparted to sports persons under Special Area Games (SAG) and Sports Project Development Area Centres (SPDA) schemes.

3.13.23 Annual scholarships are disbursed to University level players through Sports Authority of India (SAI). Scholarships are also provided to champions in the National Women Championship. Evaluation of SAI schemes has been done by Tata Consultancy Services.

3.13.24 A core group on Sports Medicine was set up in 1992 which came up with several recommendations which are being implemented by SAI. SAI has developed Sports Science and Sports Medicine facilities at Delhi, Patiala and Bangalore. Netaji Subhash National Institute of Sports has developed a two-year course in Sports Medicine.

3.13.25 Some corporate investments in sports have been made available for football, hockey, tennis, chess and table tennis etc.

Ninth Plan

Action Plan

3.13.26 For promotion of sports, National Sports Development Fund will be created where private and government contribution will be made for creating necessary infrastructure for sports, its maintenance and organising sports events.

3.13.27 It is proposed to set up sports schools by suitably adopting the Navodaya Vidyalaya Pattern in different States.These schools would mainly be geared to physical education disciplines and have some academic subjects in addition.

3.13.28 There is also a need to take a wider perspective of integrating `sports' as part of the educational system. For that purpose, Department of Education will earmark funds for sports promotion, upkeep of playgrounds and physical sports infrastructure under Kendriya Vidayalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas, training of physical education instructors, etc.

3.13.29 Similarly, State Governments will also provide `additive provision' for `sports' in their education budgets, so that improvement of sports facilities could be made available to youth.

3.13.30 Department of Youth Affairs and Sports will take necessary action to prepare and update `Directory of Sports Facilities' both at the Centre and State/UT level and take necessary steps for utilisation of the existing facilities on `neighbourhood' concept. Necessary guidelines will be prepared in consultation with the State Governments and other authorities.

3.13.31 Greater integration of the scientific facilities, the established and sound principles of sports physiology and sports medicine with requisite quality of manpower relevant to the training needs of sportspersons will be achieved in coming years. Greater importance will be given to further enhance the competencies and skills of our coaches for training the national teams as also for availing up services of world class coaches. Programmes of continuing education of such coaches will be established. Special attention will be given to the North-East region for maximum utilization of available talent.

3.13.32 A policy for promoting the participation of NGOs and industries for their contribution in sharing resources and sponsored programmes for sports and youth activities will be evolved. The private and public sector units will be encouraged to take up promotion and development of sports infrastructure. Sports academies in specific disciplines will be developed under their sponsorship. The existing tax incentive in sports to the corporate houses will be simplified and publicised with a view to attracting as much investment as possible.

3.13.33 The strategy adopted for greater access will involve substantial investment in physical education, infrastructure development and in creating widespread awareness for physical fitness with special focus on school children. The State Governments will be requested to implement the recommendations of the Central Advisory Board on Education to make Sports and Physical Education compulsory subjects in the curriculum.

3.13.34 There is a need to promote Research and Development (R and D) on sports. It is necessary to initiate research on sports medicine using all systems of medicine. Deptt. of Youth Affairs and Sports will inter-act with Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) for development of low cost artificial turf surfaces for playing hockey. Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) will also be approached for research on low cost surfaces.

3.13.35 Sports infrastructure will be made readily available to the public at large so that it can participate in various activities. Various State and nongovernmental organisations will need to be encouraged to build infrastructural facilities. The creation of infrastructure at district and tehsil levels will be the responsibility of the State Governments. There will be maximum utilisation of the existing facilities. Proper coordination, joint effort and congruence of objectives are required to get the maximum output. For this purpose it is necessary to do a detailed analysis and prioritization of schemes.

3.13.36 Special attention will be given to the promotion of sports and games among the handicapped persons by providing specially designed equipment, playgrounds for special education centres, training of special educators and instructors and holding of tournaments etc. A special scheme will be formulated for the promotion of sports and games among the four categories of disabled persons namely, (a) Blind and Visually Handicapped; (b) Deaf and Dumb; (c) Mentally Retarded; and (d) Physically Handicapped. The scheme will provide financial assistance for specially required equipment, play-grounds for special education centres, training of special educators, appointment of sports teachers/coaches in special education centres, training camps, holding of tournaments etc.

3.13.37 A National Programme of Physical Fitness in schools will be taken up, which will involve the training of select subject teachers in the basics of physical education through in-service training programme and measuring the progress of each individual student against a laid down norm.

3.13.38 The North Eastern Region will be given special facilities for promotion of sports. The work on State level Sports Complexes in the State Capitals as well as District level/Sub-district level complexes/centres will continue. A regional agency under the aegis of NEC will fund, monitor and coordinate sports and youth programmes in the region. Development of sports and youth activities in colleges and Universities, upgradation of coaching standards, scholarship schemes for outstanding young athletes, promotion of adventure activities, projects aimed at creating awareness of environmental, national and social issues, training of personnel incharge of various sports and youth facilities, holding of sports tournaments, regional championships in specific disciplines, regional sports tournaments for colleges and universities will be taken up.

      Physical targets (Ninth Plan) under various schemes of
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          	Department of Youth Affairs  and  Sports
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A.  Youth Affairs
    -------------
    Name of the Scheme       Unit                           Target
    -----------------        ------                         ---------
1.  National Service Scheme  No. of volunteers              18,00,000
                             No. of Camps                   15,000
2.  Nehru Yuva Kendra
   Sangathan  and  IDARAs
   (Information Develop-     No. of programmes              80,820
    ment and Resource
    Agencies)
3.  Assistance to volunteer  No. of youths                  30,000
    organisations engaged
    in youth welfare
    activities
4.  National Service Volun-  No. of volunteers              15,500
    teer Scheme              
5.  Commonwealth Youth       No. of meetings                    18
     Programme               No. of Youth                       12
Exchange programme
6.  Assistance to youth      No. of youth clubs              5,000
    clubs
7.  Training of youth        No. of youths                   7,500
8.  Special Scheme for       No. of Youths                  30,000
     promotion of youth
     activities among
     backward tribes
B.  Sports
      -------
1.  Grant for supply and     No.of surfaces             4-5 (Hockey
    installation of          each year                    and  Athletic)
    synthetic surfaces
2.  Sports Scholarship       No. of Scholar-          State-level    2500
                             ship each year           National
                             (maximum)                level          800
                                                      College/
                                                      University     400
                                                      level.  
                                                      Sr. Women      20
                                                      Women doing 
                                                      Diploma        10
                                                      Women doing
                                                      PHD            5 
3.  National Physical        No. of Schools           To cover all
    Fitness Programme                                 Sec./Sr. Sec.
                                                      Schools which
                                                      have the faci-
                                                      lity of physi-
                                                      cal teacher.
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