Big boost: Sports Ministry to provide Rs 1 lakh a month to Rio-bound Indian athletes

New Delhi: In a boost to Rio-bound athletes, the Sports Ministry has decided to provide Rs one lakh per month as Out of Pocket allowance to the sportspersons under the TOP scheme in their preparation for the Olympics and Paralympics Games at Rio de Janeiro. [caption id=“attachment_1740131” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Olympic bronze-medalist Yogeshwar Dutt. AP[/caption] “Out of Pocket allowance of one lakh rupees per month to be given to TOP athletes for Rio Olympics/Paralympics,” the Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry wrote in its official twitter account. Till date, 77 Indian athletes in eight disciplines have qualified for the Olympics and many more are likely to qualify in the next two months. Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme is a sports ministry initiative under which Olympic medal prospects are funded by the government for top class training as part of their preparations for the Games.