The reported payment of big sums of money by the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee to an obscure British based company seems to be a case of high level corruption. The Organising Committee is reported to have paid around Rs. 1.68 crore (2,47,467 pound) to a company, A. M. Films. It is further alleged that this company is receiving 25,000 pounds every month.   More than Rs. 3 crore  has so far been paid to this company. The British government has already pointed out various irregularities in the contract with the company.

funds allocated for Commonwealth Games:Current Affairs Sports

The details of funds allocated for Commonwealth Games till date by  the

Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports are:

Current Affairs of India

Close on the heels of the Common Wealth games Suresh Kalmadi and Manishanker Iyer are at logger heads. Thanks to murky IPL, Indian Cricket administration is seen by the cricket lovers across the country with suspicion and anguish. As the players raised the banner of virtual revolt, Indian hockey establishment was under the scanner. These controversies have damaged the reputation of Indian sports. The Asian Games three decades ago, the Afro-Asian Games and other extravagant sporting events have left behind elitist infrastructure which the administration find it difficult even to maintain. Now the Common Wealth Games may be yet an another demonstration of pomp and show. But the substance remains the same. India still lacks far behind in the world of sports. The time has come to talk about many things to make India a front line sporting nation.

On last day of India-Sri Lanka first test, the stadium in Sri Lanka was serried. It was sure that Sri Lanka would win the match but the faces of audience were not charming because they came to see the indelible event of the test cricket that is 800th wicket for Muttiah Muralitharan. With Ojha’s wicket there was an end to the suspense. Though India lost the match, players and Indian audience welcomed the record of Muralitharan-the Magnum Opus of cricket.

Muttiah Muralitharan is first and perhaps the last bowler to reach the mark of taking 800 wickets in tests. Far from him Shane Warne (708) and Anil Kumble (619) are in 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.

Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Swimming Pool Complex was constructed in 1982 to hold Asian Games.  For the forthcoming Commonwealth Games, 2010,the existing swimming pool complex has now been upgraded and renovated with the latest state of art facilities so as to meet the international standards required for hosting world class aquatic events. With a total seating capacity of 5000 spectators, the stadium now has the largest cohestrand supported, breathable, elliptical shaped aluminum roof with span of  150m x 130m , which is first of its kind  in the world. The stadium will host other multipurpose activities during legacy period. The stadium is the largest covered aquatic stadium in the country having Olympic sized racing and diving pools with a six lanes warm up pool. The work was executed by Central Public Works Department (CPWD), the premiere construction agency of the Government of India for the venue owner Sports Authority of India.

Seema Tomar, an ace trap (shotgun) shooter was enrolled by the Indian Army in 2004 under sports quota as part of ‘Mission Olympic Programme’ with to nurture young talent into an elite sportsperson to excel in National / International shooting competitions.

Seema Tomar with her hard work, undeterred commitment and sheer dedication with the matching support by the Indian Army has shown steady improvement since 2004. The individual has done the Country proud by becoming the first Indian woman shooter to have won the individual silver medal at the ISSF Word Cup (shotgun) held at Dorset (UK) from 11-20 May 2010 by shooting a score of 88/100. .

The education system, the media environment, the social setting fail to instill in people scientific inquiry but, instead promote superstitions and archaic beliefs and attitudes. The Octopus is named as psychic Octopus. There is no evidence to support or even suggest that an Octopus has intelligence to predict something.  The danger now is the football player may stop seriously practicing sport and concentrate on worshipping Octopus.  The madness will not end here many more Pauls’ will join the game. Not just the Football it will infect even other popular sports like Tennis, cricket,etc. The vested interests will always be the ready to capitalize on such popular unscientific superstitious beliefs. The politicians, the stock market, etc., would soon adopt this phenomenon .The speculative force in the Stock market  would further this phenomenon.  Octopus join the bulls and bears.

The Indian players are now playing on an average for 300 days in a year. This is certainly difficult even for the players with excellent physical fitness. But, the Indian cricket management completely bogged down in the money and the glamour of IPL had little time to plan the cricketing activity for our players. The players who consider the IPL club interests above the national pride can not object to this round the clock cricket.

Fifty over matches are under attack once again. The English Board has already scrapped this   longer version of limited over cricket in its domestic matches. The demand to do away with fifty over matches popularly known as one day matches has gained more support in the wake of commercial success of Indian Premier League. This time, the proposal to say a final farewell to ODI ‘ has come from person no less than Sachin Tendulkar.

For the last three seasons, IPL has been toast of the town, so far as the elite and the nouveau riche is concerned.  From day one, it became increasingly clear that IPL was not a mere cricketing tournament – it was something much beyond.  For cricket purists, even the shorter fifty over format of the game were a shocker.  Kerry Packer’s innovation which has now come to be established  as a regular  feature of international cricket and is recognized by the International Cricket Council – was, in fact,  scorned off as `pajama cricket’.  That was history.  The format of cricket was evolving and responding to commercial compulsions of the television era.

The land of Arjuna and Ekalavya, the greatest sports men of epic age is certainly now not a force to reckon with in the world of sport. However, the disparaging performance of Indian sports in international events and the concern and criticism surrounding it is nothing new.

But what disturbs many sports lovers and planners is the fact that this performance has either declined or not improved over a period of time. The reasons for such a sad state of affairs lie in the nature of sports planning, administration, culture and policy premises.

New facts are emerging on the ipl front every day the menace seems to be much deeper and wider. The Government of India should immediately conduct comprehensive probe into the affairs of the Indian Premier League (IPL).The nation has to know why the commercial venture was not taxed over the last two years. Inquiry should also be held under the Prevention of Corruption Act against the former Union Minister, Shashi Tharoor, who too has sought a probe into charges against him.

Resignation of Mr. Tharoor cannot be treated as the end of the matter and an inquiry is also needed since for the first time a Minister had been charged with using the office for personal benefit, if not directly for someone close to him.

The National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) was established with the objective of mobilizing resources from non-government resources, including private/public sector and non-resident Indians for the promotion of sports and games in the country. This information was given by the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Shri PratikPrakashbapu  Patil in a written reply  in the Lok Sabha today to a question raised by Shri K.C. Singh ‘BABA’

Cricket is like a religion in our country Millions of youth are emotionally  attached to this great game. The IPL phenomenon deeply disturbs them. The cricketing world has to wake up before a death knell is sounded to the game. The relentless crusades of corrupt politicians, manipulative businessmen , vulnerable players , dubious bureaucrats have to be defeated.

What exactly does ‘mentoring’ imply? Rendezvous Sports World is a business enterprise. It was bidding in an auction held by a private body. What possible role can a Union Minister or Member of Parliament have in this process? What role did the Minister actually play? Were his colleagues in the Ministry and the Government informed about his ‘mentoring’ of the private consortium? Did they approve of it? Rather than clarifying on these issues related to the propriety of his actions, Shashi Tharoor has been busy shamelessly singing the “I did it for Kerala” tune.

The Enforcement Directorate and the Revenue Intelligence must seriously investigate whether this money making machine has also been converted, as is being widely suspected, into a money laundering one. The public also needs to be told about the extent of tax giveaways that have been awarded to this jamboree at a time when duties on fuel are being hiked to meet the fiscal crunch. Unless all allegations surrounding the IPL are thoroughly probed in a time bound manner and the illegalities severely punished, the doubt of murky racketeering beneath the IPL surface will linger, eroding its already damaged credibility. The cricket lovers will feel cheated.

The involvement of Mr. Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for External Affairs, in the Indian Premier League franchise for the Kochi team has raised a number of questions. It now transpires that a person associated with him has got 19 per cent free equity worth Rs. 70 crores in the company that led the consortium which got the franchise.

The Union Minister for Urban Development, Mr. S. Jaipal Reddy has criticised Shiv Sena Supremo, Shri Bal Thackeray for his statement about Ms. Sania Mirza’s marriage plan. In a statement Mr. Reddy has said the comment of Mr. Bal Thackeray is highly symptomatic of his notorious tendency to lend a communal colour to every issue.

The quantum of revenue likely to be generated during the Commonwealth Games till December 2010 is expected to be of Rs. 1708.00 Crore from (i) International / Domestic Broadcasting : Rs. 298.70 Crore; (ii) Sponsorship : Rs. 960.00 Crore; (iii) Ticketing : Rs. 100.00 Crore; (iv) Licensed Merchandise : Rs. 50.00 Crore; and (v) Donations : Rs. 300.00 Crore. The CG Organizing Committee is likely to offset the entire projected expenditure of Rs. 1620.00 Cr on the conduct of Games through the collection of above revenue.  The Government has guaranteed to meet the shortfall between revenue generation and expenditure, if any, of CG Organizing Committee.

The decision by franchise owning businessmen to not to pick any of the Pakistani players available in the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction for its third season was unfortunate. The IPL franchisee owners clearly did not think much of the feelings of the cricketers who entered the auction process through a circuitous route, after having invited them to the auction and then refusing to choose any of them through the bidding process.

Review of the Year 2009

The Year 2009 witnessed spectrum of initiatives undertaken for transformation of sports in the country by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.  Important ones are measures taken to prevent “age frauds” in sports, increase transparency and accountability of National Sports Federations, formulating a Scheme of Sports & Games for the Disabled ,   review of welfare schemes  for sportspersons, out of pocket allowance for athletes participating in the international tournaments and strengthening of Anti- Doping mechanism under the motto “ Medals with Honour” . The Anti-Doping Rules of National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) of India became operational from 1st January, 2009.