The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs & Sports, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal has said that the Government recognizes the importance of the sport of Badminton in India, its popularity among the masses, medal prospects of India and recent performances in various international events, etc.

Keeping these factors in view, the Ministry has placed the sport of Badminton in the ‘high priority’ category. Further identification and nurturing of the identified talent from various sports disciplines in various States and Districts, including badminton, is done under the following schemes of Sports Authority of |India (SAI) through their regional centres and training centres located all over India: (a) National Sports Talent Contest (NSTC) Scheme (b) Army Boys Sports Companies (ABSC) Scheme (c) SAI Training Centre (STC) Scheme (d) Special Area Games (SAG) Scheme (e) Centre of Excellence (CoE) Scheme Under these Schemes, scientific training is imparted to the selected trainees under expert coaches.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha Wednesday the Minister said the trainees are provided assistance for boarding, lodging, equipment, sports-kit, stipend, competition exposure, etc.