Financial Assistance and Grants to Sports Associations / Clubs / Sports Committees of Uttarakhand

What is the Financial Assistance and Grants to Sports Associations, Clubs and Sports Committees scheme?

Financial Assistance and Grants to Sports Associations, Clubs and Sports Committees is a grant scheme of the Directorate of Sports, Government of Uttarakhand, listed on the department's portal as Anudan (अनुदान). The scheme pays money to sporting organisations, not to individuals, so that they can organise competitions at district, state and national level in Uttarakhand.

The Uttarakhand Sports Department runs the grant alongside a set of other schemes, sports hostels, scholarships, sports kits, reimbursement to sports associations, organisation of local and specialised training camps, athlete accident insurance and support for participation in international competitions. Within that set, this grant is the one aimed squarely at event organisation.

The grant is governed by a government order that fixes the permissible amounts, and the department publishes two separate checklists on sports.uk.gov.in: one for recognised sports associations organising competitions, and one for sports committees and clubs organising competitions. Reading the checklist that applies to your body before you write the application is the single most useful preparation step.

How much grant does the Uttarakhand Sports Department give?

For recognised sports associations, by competition level:

For sports committees and clubs:

Sports committees and clubs are placed at the district-level equivalent ceiling of Rs 1 lakh regardless of the level named for the event. The state and national slabs are reserved for recognised sports associations, that is, bodies affiliated to the recognised national federation for their sport.

These are ceilings, not entitlements. The checklist requires the applicant to state the estimated expenditure of the event and the amount permissible under the government order, and the sanctioned figure is settled against both.

Separately, for athletes' equipment: the department reimburses 75 per cent of the cost of sports equipment for athletes and 90 per cent for differently-abled athletes, subject to the ceiling fixed in the relevant government order. This is a different head from the competition grant and is claimed separately.

Who is eligible for this grant?

A body can apply if:

• It is a recognised sports association affiliated to the recognised national sports federation for its sport, or a sports committee or club registered under the Societies Act.
• Its registration is valid: under the Societies Act, Trust Act or Companies Act for an association; under the Societies Act for a committee or club.
• A committee or club can show continuous registration for the past 5 years.
• Its elections of office-bearers are regular and undisputed.
• It has its own bank account in the body's name.
• It is organising a competition at district, state or national level, with a fixed date, venue and estimated expenditure.
• It has obtained the recommendation of the District Sports Officer.

A body or person cannot apply if:

• The applicant is an individual athlete. This grant is for organisations only; athletes are served by the department's scholarship, sports kit, sports hostel, accident insurance and equipment reimbursement schemes.
• The body is unregistered, or its registration has lapsed.
• A committee or club cannot show 5 years of continuous registration.
• An association is not affiliated to the recognised national federation for its sport.
• The body's elections are disputed or office-bearers are not properly elected, the checklist asks specifically for details of regular and undisputed elections.
• The application is not in writing. Both checklists ask, as a separate item, whether the application has been made in writing.
• The District Sports Officer's recommendation has not been obtained.

Recent funding history also counts against a repeat applicant. The association checklist asks whether any grant was provided in the past 2 years; the club and committee checklist asks about the past 3 years. Both also ask for full details of grants made available to the organising body in previous years.

What documents and information are required?

The department's checklists ask for the following, and an application missing any of it is treated as incomplete:

The completed checklist must carry the signature and seal of the President or Secretary of the applying body.

How to apply for the sports association grant in Uttarakhand

1. Download the correct checklist from the Anudan (grants) page on sports.uk.gov.in, the recognised-sports-association checklist if you are an affiliated association, or the sports-committee-and-club checklist otherwise. Read the linked government order on the same page.
2. Assemble your registration certificate, proof of affiliation or of five years of continuous registration, election details, and bank account details.
3. Prepare a written application setting out the competition you intend to organise: its level, date, venue and estimated expenditure.
4. Fill the checklist completely, including details of grants received in previous years and whether any grant was given in the past 2 years (association) or 3 years (club or committee).
5. Obtain the recommendation of the District Sports Officer of your district.
6. Sign and seal the checklist as President or Secretary and submit the complete application with all annexures through the District Sports Officer to the Directorate of Sports.
7. Follow up with the District Sports Officer for the sanction order, and receive the grant in the body's own bank account.

Why grant applications get rejected

• Application not made in writing, which the checklist treats as a disqualifying gap.
• Registration certificate not attached, or registration not current.
• A club or committee cannot evidence 5 years of continuous registration.
• An association cannot evidence affiliation to the recognised national federation for its sport.
• Disputed or overdue elections of the body's office-bearers.
• No District Sports Officer recommendation.
• Grant already drawn recently, within the last 2 years for an association, or 3 years for a club or committee.
• Estimated expenditure not stated, or claimed above the amount permissible under the government order for that level.
• Bank account in an individual's name rather than the body's name.
• Application filed after the event, leaving no time for the District Sports Officer to recommend or the Directorate to sanction.

Where to get help

• District Sports Officer of your district, the routing officer for every application and the first point of contact for status.
• Directorate of Sports, Government of Uttarakhand; sports.uk.gov.in, which carries the grants page, both checklists, the governing government order, and the department's Contact Us, Help and Feedback pages.

There is no fee for applying. The sanctioned grant is paid into the applicant body's own bank account, and the department's published checklists mean an applicant can self-audit a file before submitting it.