Karna budget, it's sports bonanza

In a bid to encourage sportspersons to scale new heights, Karnataka Government today announced an award of Rs one crore for winners of gold medal in the Olympics from the state.

Similarly, silver medal winners would get Rs 50 lakh and bronze winners Rs 25 lakh, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in his 2014-15 budget presented to the state Assembly.

Winners of gold medals in the World Championship Games, Asian and Commonwealth Games would receive Rs 25 lakh, he said. Silver and bronze medal winners would get Rs 15 lakh and Rs 8 lakh respectively.

Similarly, he said, winners of gold, silver and bronze medals in national sports meets would get Rs 2 lakh, Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50,000, respectively.

"This would encourage our sportspersons to excel and bring fame to the state and country," Siddaramaiah said, while also announcing that the state's Sports Policy would be formulated during 2014-15.

In his budgetary proposals, he also announced that monthly pension paid to former wrestlers would be enhanced from Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,000.

He also said that 1,500 international, national and state level former sportspersons who were getting monthly honorarium of Rs 1,500, Rs 1,000 and Rs 750 would hereafter get Rs 2,000, Rs 1,500 and Rs 1,000, respectively.