Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday approved a new sports policy during a review meeting at the Secretariat in Amaravati.
The policy emphasises four core objectives: sports for all, nurturing talent, building a supportive sports ecosystem, and enhancing global visibility.
CM Naidu said that the new policy would help Andhra Pradesh emerge as India’s top state in the field of sports.
The new sports policy proposed enhanced incentives for athletes and pledged to scale up the sports infrastructure of the state.
Once the policy comes into effect, 2 to 3 per cent of jobs will be reserved for distinguished sportspers, with additional benefits for uniformed services.
The Olympic gold medallists, meanwhile, will be feted with INR 7 crore cash rewards, while the silver medallists and the bronze medallists will get INR 5 crore and INR 3 crore respectively.
Currently, the Olympic medallists from Andhra Pradesh are eligible for cash rewards of INR 75 lakh, INR 50 lakh and INR 30 lakh, respectively.
Not only the Olympic medallists, but the medallists from the Asian Games, National Games, and Khelo India Games will also be rewarded for their medal-winning performances under the new policy.
The approved policy also guarantees jobs to Olympic and Asian Games medallists, who will now be offered Group-1 government positions.
Naidu also proposed that the state capital Amaravati would be developed as a dedicated sports city, with integrated sports complexes to be built in Tirupati, Visakhapatnam, and Amaravati. Sports schools will be built in Kadapa, Vijayawada, and Vizianagaram.
This is in addition to sports development centres at the Mandal and village levels to promote traditional games and other sports.