New Delhi: The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Government of India, has accepted the proposal of the Department of Sports to grant benefit of the sports quota to athletes of 20 new disciplines on Tuesday, the 1st September, 2020. The list of sports which qualify for appointment of meritorious sportspersons in Central Government offices has now thus been revised from 43 to 63, and includes indigenous and traditional sports like Mallakhamb, Tug-of-War, Roll Ball.

Speaking about the decision, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Shri. Kiren Rijiju said, “To ensure the overall welfare of our athletes is of primary importance for the Government, and the proposal to include more sporting disciplines in the DoPT list is a step in that direction. It will be beneficial not only to boost the morale of the sports persons who are performing at National and International events but will also help to create a positive environment for overall development of sports in the country”.

Earlier, athletes of 43 disciplines were eligible under the sports quota for jobs in the Government of India and in various ministries. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports took up the matter with the Department of Personnel and Training for revision of the list of sports, which was last revised in October 2013. It has been reviewed and now 20 more disciplines, including indigenous and traditional sports, have been added. Meritorious athletes who have performed well in international events such as the Asian Games, Olympics, and other championships in these newly added disciplines will now be benefitted under the sports quota.

The revised list, issued by the DoPT, has included 20 new disciplines: Baseball, Body Building (was included as part of Gymnastics previously), Cycling Polo, Deaf Sports, Fencing, Kudo, Mallakhamb, Motorsports, Net Ball, Para Sports (disciplines included in Paralympics and Para Asian Games), Pencak Silat, Roll Ball, Rugby, Sepak Takraw, Soft Tennis, Shooting Ball, Tenpin Bowling, Triathlon, Tug-of-war and Wushu.