New Delhi [India], October 12 (ANI): The inaugural session of three days "WADA Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) Symposium- 2022", was addressed by Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports Anurag Singh Thakur on Wednesday in the capital.

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], July 13 (ANI): Aiming to unearth the corruption in the Forest Department during the previous Congress regime, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Wednesday arrested Daljit Singh Gilzian, nephew of former minister Sangat Singh Gilzian, who was a middleman to collect the ill-gotten money from contractors, in transfers of department officials, illegal mining as well as the purchase of tree guards.

New Delhi [India], April 19 (ANI): A Parliamentary Committee has pointed out the "lack of proper monitoring" of accounts of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), revealing that for nine years, from 2009 to 18, its accounts were cleared in one single meeting.

New Delhi Mar 24 PTI The National Anti-Doping Bill that was introduced in the Parliament last year did not have severe criminal law provisions as it was intended to be a preventive legislation though it empowers the National Anti-Doping Agency to conduct raids to catch dope offenders the Sports Ministry said In a report prepared by a standing committee of the Parliament and submitted to both the Houses on Wednesday the ministry said the Bill was prepared in alignment with the idea of making this a preventive legislation rather than a criminal legislation the punishmentpenalties provided in the Bill were based on international anti-doping provisions and it has been kept in mind that severe criminal law provisions are not introduced the Sports Secretary told the standing committee members Clause 19 of the Bill however provides the NADA the power of entry search and seizure by any person authorised by the agency for the purpose of determining if any anti-doping rule violation has been committed The procedure to be adopted shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 Earlier the NADA had no authority to conduct raids and its anti-doping appeal panel has held the same Many former sportspersons head of National Sports Federations and experts have been calling for an anti-doping legislation to give more teeth to the existing rules made under the WADA Anti-Doping Code Some had even gone to the extent of calling for making doping in sports a criminal offence punishable with jail term In 2018 the NADA had even proposed making doping a criminal offence The standing committee suggested that due safeguards may be provided to protect the rights of athletes and to address the issues of privacy while laying down the procedure to conduct raids Regarding concerns over increasing use of dietary supplements by athletes without any regulation the ministry informed that it will take help of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India FSSAI and lab testing of these supplements is being made mandatory from April this year Rules in this regard have already been framed and FSSAI is in the process of rolling them out the sports secretary had told the committee The Bill which seeks to give legislative backing to anti-doping norms in the country was introduced to the Parliament by Sports Minister Anurag Thakur in December last year It was later referred to a standing committee comprising members of both the Houses of the Parliament for examination and report After hearing the secretary and senior officials of Sports Ministry various federations prominent sportspersons organisations and individuals the Committee under the chairmanship of Rajya Sabha MP Vinay P Sahasrabudhe tabled its report in both the Houses on Wednesday The Bill is intended to provide a statutory framework for the operation of 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 sport The bill seeks to give NADA powers of investigation levying sanctions for Anti- Doping Rule Violations the disciplinary procedures to be adopted and the powers of inspection sample collection and sharing and free flow of information While endorsing the Bill in its present form the standing committee of the parliament made suggestionsrecommendations be taken into account at appropriate stage The Committee suggested that a distinction should be made between minor and major athletes while formulating the rules so that a protective mechanism is available to the former The Committee said explanation should be included in the rules so as to provide clarity in respect of what constitutes an Anti-Doping Rule Violation ADRV The Committee recommended that in order to make information about the prohibited list easily accessible a mechanism be developed like an App or dynamic website where not only such a list be readily available but also information about various supplements medicines with their ingredients be made available so that cases of unintended consumption of a prohibited substance can be curtailedavoided The Committee also put the onus of creating awareness on the Sports Ministry the SAI the federations NADA and other stakeholders The Committee stressed on the need to ensure that the quantum of penalties imposed are proportional to the extentdegree of the proven doping violation The Committee also felt the need to separate prosecuting agency NADA and the Anti-Doping Panels both functionally and administratively PTI PDS PDS ATK ATK

Pyongyang [North Korea], March 10 (ANI/Xinhua): Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), said his country will launch multiple military reconnaissance satellites to space, the official Korean Central News Agency reported Thursday.

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], February 17 (ANI): After picking up a 37-26 win over U Mumba, Haryana Steelers will face off against Bengaluru Bulls in Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 on Thursday. With just two matches left in the league stage, Haryana Steelers veteran defender Surender Nada spoke on the upcoming encounter and explained why it is a must-win for the team.