Mumbai: The Maharashtra Cabinet on Tuesday approved a revised policy to bring uniformity and clarity to the 5% parallel reservation in government jobs for meritorious sportspersons. Under the new policy, eligible candidates will be required to get their sports certificates validated within three months.
The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The 5% reservation will apply to direct recruitment to Group A, B, C and D posts in state government departments and their subordinate offices, Zilla Parishads, Panchayat Samitis, Gram Panchayats, municipal corporations, government undertakings, boards, corporations and universities. It will also cover government-aided educational institutions, ashram schools, cooperative institutions, including banks and sugar factories, and recognised voluntary organisations receiving government grants or financial assistance.
The revised policy aims to encourage sportspersons who have represented the country and state at national and international levels and provide them greater social and economic security.
Digital verification to curb fake certificates
A major feature of the revised policy is the introduction of the Krida E-Praman automated digital system for sports certificate verification. The system is intended to prevent the use of bogus certificates. Organisers will be required to upload digitally signed results within seven days of completion of a competition.
The system will use blockchain technology to permanently preserve data and prevent tampering. Automated cryptographic hashing will enable immediate verification of the authenticity of records.
The government has cancelled all previous government resolutions relating to the 5% sports quota and will issue a consolidated revised Government Resolution shortly. Sportspersons who were eligible for reservation under the earlier policy will also have to get their certificates validated within three months from the date of issuance of the new GR.
Eligibility expanded across major competitions
The revised policy specifies eligibility criteria for different categories of posts. For Group A posts, medal-winning sportspersons from recognised international competitions, Olympic Games, Asian Games, senior World Championships/Cups, Asian Championships/Cups, Commonwealth Games and senior Commonwealth Championships/Cups will be eligible. Grandmasters in chess, Grand Slam tennis players, and medal winners at Paralympic and Para Asian Games will also qualify.
For Group B gazetted posts, eligibility will include medal winners at youth/junior World, Asian and Commonwealth championships, Youth Olympic, Asian and Commonwealth Games, recognised international school competitions for under-19 athletes, World University Games, International Master chess competitions and Para World, Asian and Commonwealth Championships.
For Group B non-gazetted posts, medal winners at National Games, national championships and National Federation Cup competitions, Para National Games and national school-level competitions for under-19 athletes will be eligible.
For Group C posts, eligibility will cover medal winners at Khelo India competitions, All India Inter-University competitions, state-level senior, youth and junior competitions, under-19 state school competitions, state-level inter-university events and recognised state-level para sports competitions.
For Group D posts, sportspersons possessing the prescribed sports qualification, as well as participants in senior-level National Games, national championships and Para National Games, will be eligible.
List of eligible sports
The reservation will cover a wide range of disciplines, including archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, canoeing and kayaking, cricket, cycling, fencing, football, gymnastics, handball, hockey, judo, kabaddi, kho-kho, mallakhamb, rowing, rugby, shooting, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, volleyball, modern pentathlon, weightlifting, wrestling, skateboarding, surfing, sport climbing, golf, chess, equestrian sports and tennis.
The policy also provides for the inclusion of sports featured in three consecutive Summer Olympic Games after 2005, while traditional Indian sports such as kabaddi, kho-kho, chess, mallakhamb and cricket will be eligible to promote indigenous and popular sports.
For the Olympic, Paralympic, Asian, Para Asian and Commonwealth Games, eligibility will apply to the sports included in these competitions in the respective years. Senior, youth and junior athletes participating in competitions organised by recognised sports federations will also be covered, along with eligible disciplines under school and Khelo India competitions.
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