National miner Coal India Limited (CIL) on Tuesday signed an MoU with Department of Sports, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Govt. of India at New Delhi for betterment of sports infrastructure in the country. Under the MoU, CIL, under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program will contribute Rs. 75 crores towards the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF). CIL’s contribution will be used for construction of three large hostels meant for sports persons. The initiative is seen as a significant step towards reaping the sports atmosphere created through recent success in Olympics & Paralympics where India finished with the best ever medal tally.
The MoU signing ceremony was held in presence of Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Hon’ble Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Govt. of India and Shri Nisith Pramanik, Hon’ble Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Govt. of India. The event was graced by Dr. Anil Kumar Jain, Secretary (Coal), Govt. of India; Shri Ravi Mittal, Secretary (Sports), Govt. of India; Shri Pramod Agrawal, Chairman, CIL and Shri Atul Singh, Joint Secretary (Sports-Development), Govt. of India. Shri Vinay Ranjan, Director (Personnel & Industrial Relations), CIL signed the MoU on behalf of CIL while Shri Vijay Kumar, Director (Sports) & Member Secretary, NSDF signed on behalf of Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports.
These hostels will be constructed at Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education (LNIPE), Gwalior and Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) centres at Bhopal & Bengaluru with a combined capacity of 350 sports persons. These hostels will benefit talented athletes directly by creating a conducive eco-system through focused training under national level Coaches. The project will be completed by 2023 for which CIL has already released Rs. 25 crores. This particular support from CIL also meets the purpose spelt out under “Khelo India” Scheme of Govt of India.
Notably, CIL spends over Rs. 500 crores annually on CSR initiatives. CIL and its subsidiaries have undertaken some high-impact projects under the thematic area of promotion of sports in its operational areas. Notable among them are- Support to Sport Academy at Ranchi by providing residential training to tribal youth of Jharkhand at the cost of Rs. 10 crores per year, a Multi-Purpose Sports Complex at Sambalpur, Odisha at the cost of Rs. 25 crores and a 10,000-capacity stadium at Jharsuguda, Odisha at the cost of Rs. 23 crores.
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