The Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Vijay Goel said in that the Government of India through Sports Authority of India (SAI) is implementing the following Sports Promotional Schemes to scout and nurture both talented girls and boys to compete at National and International level competitions:
- National Sports Talent Contest Scheme (NSTC)
- Army Boys Sports Company (ABSC)
- SAI Training Centre (STC)
- Special Area Games (SAG)
- Extension Centre of STC/SAG
- Centre of Excellence (CoE)
- National Sports Academies (NSA)
Presently, 13684 talented sports persons (9653 boys and 4031 girls) identified under SAI Schemes are being trained in 27 sports disciplines throughout the country.
In a written reply he said, though the sports promotional schemes are inclusive for all gender, caste, region, race, the majority of the sports persons selected under the above schemes are identified from the rural and backward area of the country and provided with sports facilities in the form of Expert Coaches, Sports Equipment (Consumable & Non-Consumable), Boarding & Lodging, Sports Kit, Competition Exposure, Educational Expenses, Medical/Insurance and Stipend under Residential & Non-Residential as per the approved scheme norms.
In addition to it, to promote sports among girls/women, SAI has established three sports training centres exclusively for girls/women which are as under:
- STC, Badal (Punjab)
- STC, Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh)
- STC, Medikeri (Karnataka)