Nepotism that existed in sports before 2014 has ended; now poor can rise to top levels: PM Modi
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said irregularities in team selection and sports that often happened before 2014 came to an end a decade ago, and now children from even the poorest families can rise to the top levels purely through hard work and talent.
Addressing the 'Sansad Khel Mahotsav', a sports and fitness festival aimed at promoting a sporting culture and leadership among the youth, PM Modi said the scale of the Mahotsav is as vast as its impact.
Through this initiative, he said, the nation is discovering thousands of talented sportspersons.
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"The festival is steadily emerging as a strong pillar of youth empowerment and nation-building. Another special aspect of the 'Sansad Khel Mahotsav' is the way it is playing a transformative role in changing societal mindsets," he said.
The prime minister said that before 2014, irregularities in team selection and sports infrastructure often took place in sports.
"Today, those practices have come to an end. Even children from the poorest families can now rise to the highest levels purely through hard work and talent," he said.
PM Modi also referred to the allocation of more than Rs 3000 crore for the country's sports budget, which was less than Rs 1200 crore before 2014.
He said that through a special scheme, athletes are being provided monthly financial assistance ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000 each.
"Today, I want to tell every athlete of the country that you are not just playing for your own victory, you are playing for the country, you are playing for the honour and dignity of the tricolour," he said.
The prime minister also requested all parents to encourage their children to take part in sports and give them opportunities to participate in sporting activities.
Sports is not just a part of learning, it is also important for a healthy body and a healthy mind, he said.
Describing how sports culture is growing in the country, the prime minister said that from every corner of the country, inspiring examples are emerging that motivate the nation.
He said that in some places, differently abled athletes are defying limitations and reaching new heights, while on sports grounds elsewhere, young girls are striving tirelessly to turn their dreams into reality.
"Today, India's athletes are breaking records, setting new benchmarks, and taking India to new heights on the global sporting map," he said.
PM Modi said that until a few years ago, family members would scold and reprimand the child for playing too much as it was then considered a waste of time. Today, he said, society, and even parents, have realised that playing does not ruin one's life.
"Now they understand that their children, by excelling in sports, can change not only their own and their family's fate, but also that of the entire village and society. Today, opportunities in sports are not limited, but unlimited," he said.
The prime minister said that in 2030, India will host the Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad and then the eyes of the entire world will be on India. "Not only that, India is also making efforts to host the biggest sports event, that is, the Olympics, in 2036," he said.
The 'Sansad Khel Mahotsav' is a sports and fitness festival aimed at promoting a sporting culture and leadership among the youth. A key objective is to bring the community together through sports and fitness and to take the message of 'Fit India' to every home.
The festival features a three-level competition, including games at the village, block/ward, and parliamentary constituency levels.
The sports categories include traditional games, football, volleyball, and cricket. The event also includes fun activities like tug of war, lemon spoon race, and sack races to ensure wider participation.
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Indigo cancels 67 flights from multiple airports due to bad weather, operational issues
Mumbai (PTI): Domestic carrier IndiGo on Thursday cancelled 67 flights from multiple airports due to "forecasted" bad weather and operational reasons, according to the airline's website.
Of the 67 cancelled flights, only four were for operational reasons, and the rest were due to "forecasted" bad weather at various airports, including Agartala, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Varanasi, Bengaluru, among others, as per the website.
Aviation regulator, DGCA, has announced the period between December 10 and February 10 next year as the official fog window this winter.
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As part of the DGCA fog operations (CAT-IIIB) norms, airlines have to mandatorily roster pilots who are trained to operate in low-visibility conditions, as well as deploy a CAT-IIIB-compliant aircraft fleet for such operations.
Category-III is an advanced navigation system that empowers an aircraft to land under foggy conditions.
Category-III-A is a precision instrument approach and landing that enables a plane to land with a runway visual range (RVR) of 200 metres, while Category-III-B helps in landing with an RVR of under 50 metres.
IndiGo, whose operations are under DGCA monitoring after the cancellations of thousands of flights early this month, is already operating a curtailed schedule in compliance with the government's order.
Under its original winter flight schedule, the airline was permitted to operate 15,014 domestic flights per week, or about 2,144 flights per day, roughly six per cent higher than the 14,158 weekly flights it operated during the summer schedule of 2025.
However, after the massive disruptions, which saw the airline cancelling 1,600 flights on a single day on account of new rest norms for pilots, which allow more rest to the pilots, the government cut down the airline's domestic flight schedule by 10 per cent or 214 flights per day.
As a result of that, IndiGo can't operate more than 1,930 flights per day on domestic routes under its current winter schedule.
The Rahul Bhatia-controlled airline cancelled thousands of flights between December 1 and December 9 on account of a lack of proper planning, and crew shortage in implementing the new set of regulations for pilots' duty period and rest, which were put in place from November 1, thereby causing severe hardships to lakhs of air travellers.
Following this, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) formed a four-member panel, comprising Joint DG Sanjay Brahamane, Deputy Director General Amit Gupta, senior Flight Operations Inspector Kapil Manglik, and FOI Lokesh Rampal, with a mandate to identify the root causes of widespread operational disruptions at the Rahul Bhatia-controlled domestic carrier.
The panel, which has already grilled IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and Chief Operating Officer Isidre Porqueras as part of its probe, is expected to submit its report by this week.
Meanwhile, IndiGo, in a travel advisory on X, said, "Low visibility and fog over Bangalore has impacted flight schedule. We are keeping a close watch on the weather and doing our best where you need to be safely, smoothly".
Reacting to the advisory, an aggrieved passenger, in an X post, said, "My flight on December 20 from Bhubaneswar to Ahmedabad got delayed for more than five hours, and today my return flight from Ahmedabad to Bhubaneswar also got delayed more than three hours with the same excuse as bad weather. I am travelling with my senior citizen parents, and this delay is not acceptable. Need proper explanation, along with compensation".
