India's gold drought in Olympics maybe a regular feature now, but would the situation change at the Beijing games if more fiscal sops are given to industrialists to promote sports?

Himself not sure about this, Finance Minister P Chidambaram asked his partyman and steel player Navin Jindal, who demanded an increase in such sops: "You give me the number of olympic medals India will get in next Olympics and I'll give you tax deduction."

Responding to a suggestion by Jindal to increase tax deduction for promoting sports, especially those part of the Olympics, to 150 per cent from the current 100 per cent, the finance minister said: "I am not sure that increase in deduction will immediately get the country a clutch of Olympic medals.

" There is no evidence of such a direct relationship, he said. Steel tycoon L N Mittal has set up a foundation to promote olympic sports, Chidambaram said, adding he was not sure if the United Kingdom gives 150 per cent tax benefit.

"I think industry can certainly take advantage of present dispensation and promote Olympic sports," the finance minister said.

Save a silver medal performance by Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in the Athens games, the Indian contingent returned empty handed from the event in 2004. India last won a gold medal in hockey in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.