I don’t understand why the Sports Minister M.S Gill would want to ask money from Bollywood stars when the Finance Minister Mr. Chidambram has allocated Rs. 1,111 crore towards 2008-2009 sports budget. That is a substantial amount and if allocated properly it would be enough to provide better facilities for all players.

Lets say a handful of our Bollywood stars do donate 5 lakhs each for sponsoring players which at the end would not even cross 50 lakhs a year making it look like peanuts as compared to the budget which is allocated. Besides a committee would have to be formed to deal with the sponsorship formalities which would eat up at least 20% of the donations and possibly the rest of the money may be scammed as usual.

Instead why not ask all the Ministers who keep scamming year after year to donate some of their scammed amount to improving sports facility in the country, I am sure 5-10 lakhs would not be a big deal for them at all besides they wont feel the pinch as it is not their money in the first place.

An excerpt from HT epaper

SPORTS MINISTER M.S. Gill wants to link Bollywood with sports, which he feels will improve India’s performance at the international arena. He has urged stars to sponsor outstanding sportsperson so that financial resources are not a constraint in their performance. Speaking to HT, Gill asked Shah Rukh Khan to sponsor a team or a player and inspire Indian sports as he did in his film Chak De India. “He can begin with sponsoring four women athletes of the Indian relay team. Only Rs 5-10 lakh would be required.

I think he can spare that much money for Indian sports.” The minister said Shah Rukh bought a cricket team at the IPL – the Kolkata Knightriders for a staggering $75.09 million – and though it’s a commercial venture, the star can give something back to the country by sponsoring needy sportsperson. Gill has specific players for Shah Rukh; for other stars, like Hrithik Roshan, he said they could pick any player to sponsor “Except cricket or may be tennis, there is no money in any other sports. If Bollywood joins hands with us, the future of other sports would be bright,” he said.

An excerpt from Yahoo India news

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Friday allocated Rs.1,111.81 crore (Rs.11.12 billion/$280 million) as the total sports budget for 2008-09, with a special provision of Rs.624 crore (Rs.6.24 billion/$156 million) for preparations for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

This year’s sports budget, which includes Rs.890 crore (Rs.8.90 billion) as plan outlay and Rs.221.81 crore (Rs.2.21 billion) as non-plan allocation, witnesses a raise of Rs.254.34 crore (Rs.2.54 billion) over last year.