Bihar Launches Comprehensive Sports Scholarship Scheme to Empower Young Athletes

Bihar is full of energetic and talented players, where more than 58% of the population is of people below the age of 25 years. Here, the proportion of youth population is the highest in the country. This is the reason why Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is determined to develop Bihar by educating and training the youth in the best way.

Due to the help received through government schemes and their hard work, the youth here are making Bihar proud in every field. The soil of Bihar has given many famous players to the country in the field of hockey, athletics, archery, kabaddi and cricket. These include many big names like Shivnath Singh, C. Prasad, Sanjeev Singh, Rajiv Kumar Singh and Kirti Azad.

In view of the all-round development of the players, the Nitish government approved the Bihar Sports Scholarship Scheme-2024 under the 'Long Term Athlete Development Program'. Earlier, young talents interested in sports used to die before taking off due to financial constraints. The objective of this scheme is to enhance the talent of the talented players of the state by providing financial assistance and making them financially capable. There is a plan to help players at every level so that they can progress. The number of seats for admission under sports quota in all colleges including medical colleges, engineering colleges has also been determined.

The Bihar Sports Scholarship Scheme has been divided into three categories. The first category is for players who perform well at the district and state levels. Under this, 500 players between the ages of 12 and 18 are being given Rs 3 lakh every year. Those who win medals in individual and team sports in competitions organized by the School Games Federation of India are being included in this. Under the second category, financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh is being provided every year to 200 national/international level players in the age group of 12 to 24. This includes athletes who have participated in international level competitions or have won medals in sports organized by All India University or National Associations.

Through the Bihar Sports Scholarship Scheme, 25 Olympic level players in the third category are being given Rs 20 lakh per year as assistance. In the third group, financial assistance of Rs 20 lakh per year is being given to those players who have qualified for the Olympic level and have won medals or participated in senior national competitions. This also includes the facility of training abroad. Sports scholarships are being provided to the players by the State Sports Department and Bihar State Sports Authority.

Players eligible for scholarship should fill their detailed details on the scholarship.bihar.org website and after uploading all the documents, also upload the certificates received in their sports in the Achievement tab. If you have received any scholarship before this, then share its information as well. Through the Bihar Sports Scholarship Scheme, the facility of cashless medical insurance has also been made available to the players of the above three levels. It has also been said in the draft that the players will be covered under the personal accident policy.

There is a provision to form a high-level committee for the implementation and review of the schemes. In this, the performance of the athletes will be reviewed by the committee on an annual basis. The Nitish government has also given cabinet approval for international level sports infrastructure. Through this, sports infrastructure is being constructed in all the divisions of the state as per international standards. The stadium will be developed keeping in mind the sport in which there are more players in each division. Along with this, arrangements will also be made for the stay of players and coaches.

Sports are being continuously promoted in Bihar under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. For this, sports facilities are being developed along with training the players at every level. Stadiums are being constructed at the block level in the state. To increase the interest of youth towards sports, the government is providing jobs on big posts to the players who win medals in national and international sports competitions. This has greatly increased the enthusiasm and confidence of people interested in sports. The state government is fully committed to the all-round development of sports and players.