New Delhi, May 24: The Sports Authority of India (SAI) of Sunday released Rs 8,24,70,000 as Out of Pocket Allowance (OPA) for 2749 Khelo India Athletes. Rs 30,000 each has been deposited into the accounts of the athletes. The money is released for the first quarter of 2020-21. According to the sports authority, a total of 2,893 athletes will be given OPA for the period. Sports Authority of India Will Now Be Sports India: Rathore.
SAI in a press release said, “Funds to remaining 144 athletes to be transferred by end of May.” The allowance includes expenses towards travel to hometown, diet charges while at home and other miscellaneous expenses incurred by the athletes. Sports Authority of India Has Cleared the Names of 734 Players for a Scholarship Under Khelo India Programme.
Tweet by ANI:
Sports Authority of India (SAI) releases Rs. 8,24,70,000 as Out of Pocket Allowance (OPA) for 2749 Khelo India Athletes for the first quarter of 2020-21. Total 2893 athletes will be given OPA for the period,with funds to remaining 144 athletes to be transferred by end of May: SAI pic.twitter.com/7Zr925hMPK
— ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2020
The release further said that athletes from 35 states and union territories have been given the OPA in 21 sporting disciplines with the maximum number of them from Maharashtra (386), Haryana (381), Delhi (225), Punjab (202) and Tamil Nadu (165). The OPA is Rs 1.20 lakh annually and is a part of the Khelo India scholarship of Rs 6.28 lakh that is given to each athlete selected under the scheme, annually.
The SAI is the apex national sports body of India, established in 1984 by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. It has been established for the development of sport in India. SAI has 2 Sports Academic institutions, 10 "SAI Regional Centres" (SRC), 14 "Centre of Excellence" (COE/COX), 56 "Sports Training Centres" (STC) and 20 Special Area Games (SAG). It also manages various stadiums, including Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Indira Gandhi Arena and Dhyan Chand National Stadium.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 24, 2020 07:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).