Overview

• The Sports Ministry approved a Rs25,000 monthly out-of-pocket allowance for 80 senior national hockey players during its 156th Mission Olympic Cell meeting on June 19.
• The initiative carries a monthly outlay of Rs20 lakh, and Hockey India must submit an updated list of eligible players to the Sports Authority of India based on form and fitness.
• Under TOPS, developmental-group athletes receive Rs25,000 per month while core-group athletes are paid Rs50,000 monthly.
• The allowance serves as a merit-based reward for the teams’ back-to-back Olympic bronze medals at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 and their 2023 Asian Games gold medal.
• The MOC also approved Rs4.28 crore in funding proposals for other athletes, including tennis players, and backed a new app to broaden talent identification efforts.