January 16, New Delhi: Since the Indian sports landscape is always changing and creating new winners and stars each year, funding is always needed to support them and build infrastructure. In addition to government assistance, the corporate community’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives are another source of funding. JSW Cement’s managing director, Parth Jindal, made some insightful recommendations on Thursday on the use of this funds in New Delhi.

During the first-ever CSR round-table meeting held in the nation’s capital on Thursday, Jindal expressed his opinions on bolstering the Indian sports ecosystem in preparation for hosting the 2036 Olympic Games. Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, encouraged businesses to take up a single sport.

The managing director of JSW Cement, Parth Jindal, recommended that the government establish a distinct sports fund to promote donations from the commercial sector. Additionally, he suggested that the government address the federations’ lack of accountability, which is overseen by the independent Indian Olympic Association.

“I believe the most crucial point I made to the government was that Indian sports are regulated by federations, and the Indian Olympic Association, an independent organization, is in charge of these federations. Following the meeting, Path Jindal told the reporters, “The politics, the federation problems, and the lack of accountability must be addressed.”

He also discussed the special sports fund and said that only federations who are doing well in terms of performance and medals should get funding.

“We need to establish a sports fund in addition to your current sports budget. Contributions from the private sector should be considered. “That funding should only go to federations that are doing well in terms of results, medals, governance, and corporate responsibility,” he said.

According to him, federations that are doing well in terms of governance and adhering to corporate responsibility guidelines need to get funds. Only in terms of governance, professionalism, athlete, coach, and international federation input should determine whether or not funding is given based on performance.

According to Jindal, he recommended to the government that it sponsor new Olympic games like squash and cricket in Los Angeles and breaking in Paris. Sports like padel, pickleball, and kho kho, which are growing and have level playing fields, should be supported, he added. According to him, the government need to encourage these sports so that our teams are prepared for them when they eventually make it to the Olympics.

He also proposed that encouraging the labor-intensive sports goods sector would help create jobs. The government lowered income taxes from 25 percent to 15 percent under COVID to promote investment in heavy sectors like steel, cement, and electricity; he claimed that sports might benefit from a similar strategy.