Ladakh Approves New Sports Policy With Scholarships And Cash Awards

The Ladakh administration has approved a new sports policy that offers monthly scholarships and cash incentives to sportspersons who win medals at the international, national and UT levels. For the first time, the sports policy provides for cash incentives and monthly scholarships to motivate sportspersons to excel at school, district, state, national and international levels. The highlight of the policy is the introduction of a comprehensive framework for financial support to outstanding sportspersons from Ladakh.

Policy details

Under the policy, medal winners will receive monthly scholarships for 12 months from the date of their medal win. International gold medallists will get Rs 1 lakh a month, while national gold medallists will receive Rs 75,000 and UT-level gold medallists Rs 10,000. Silver and bronze medallists will receive lower slabs as per the policy. 

The scholarship will be upgraded if an athlete moves to a higher competition level during the benefit period, and the earlier amount will not be recovered. 

Cash incentives

The policy also provides one-time cash incentives for medal winners at recognised international, national, state and school-level competitions. These incentives will be separate from the monthly scholarship. 
It further extends special awards for athletes in Paralympic and para-sports events, including competitions for visually impaired, hearing-impaired and Special Olympics athletes. 

Mountaineering award

Ladakh athletes who successfully summit peaks above 8,000 metres anywhere in the world will be eligible for a one-time cash award of Rs 10 lakh.

The policy is intended to provide financial support to athletes and encourage participation in sports at different levels. The administration said the framework was prepared after discussions with stakeholders over two months. 

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