NEW DELHI, JULY 27 (UNI) The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the National Anti-Doping Bill, 2020, which seeks to empower the National Anti Doping Agency by making it a statutory body, and prohibits athletes, athlete support personnel, and other persons from engaging in doping in sport.
Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, while moving the bill for passing, also attacked the Opposition for criticizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi for meeting athletes. “There should be no objection to it. The Prime Minister meets the sportspersons before and after the tournaments, he welcomes them and encourages them. MPs should also meet the sportspersons and encourage them,” said Thakur. As he moved for the passing of the Bill, Thakur said the allocation for the sports ministry was Rs 874 crore in 2013-14, and in 2021-22, it was Rs 2254 crore. Thakur also said that once the Bill is passed, it will make India one of the few countries, which will have an anti-doping law, as well as laboratories.
He also said that more anti-doping testing laboratories will be established in different parts of the country. The Bill seeks to provide a “statutory framework for the operation of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) and other dope testing laboratories and for creation of a National Board for Anti-Doping in Sports to strengthen anti-doping activities in sports.
