Bowing to the BCCI's objections, the Sports Ministry on Monday decided to exempt cricketers from some World Anti-Doping Agency rules, including the contentious 'whereabouts clause', in the revised National Sports Development Bill.
Congress observers for Rajasthan on Tuesday recommended disciplinary action against three key loyalists of Ashok Gehlot but did not seek any action against the chief minister, as the party scampered to resolve the crisis that has cast a shadow on the election of the party president.
Taking note of banned athletes like Ashwini Akkunji and Sini Jose training at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Centre at Sonepat, Sports Minister Ajay Maken on Wednesday admitted that this is a serious issue and they are probing the matter.
India would be returning with its best ever medal haul in the Olympics from London, though without a gold in its kiity, prompting Sports Minister Ajay Maken expressing satisfaction with the performance of the athletes and hoping that the country can win 25 medals in 2020 Games.
All eyes are on Congress chief Sonia Gandhi as top leaders converged at her 10, Janpath residence in New Delhi on Monday after a series of developments in the last 24 hours in Rajasthan, where a majority of the party MLAs have rebelled against Sachin Pilot and want Ashok Gehlot to continue as the chief minister.
A video purportedly of a meeting of the Congress MLAs loyal to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has surfaced.
The sports ministry has promised coaching jobs on the government's payroll to all athletes who return with an Olympic medal from London.
Sports Minister Ajay Maken threw his weight behind the members of the victorious Asian Champions Trophy hockey team in the cash reward controversy, saying offering Rs 25,000 each for winning the tournament is an 'insult' to them, as the amount was meagre.
Sports Minister Ajay Maken has accused former minister Mani Shankar Aiyar of playing an 'irreparable obstructionist role' in the Commonwealth Games projects resulting in cost escalation.
Sports Minister Ajay Maken has declined to comment on Suresh Kalmadi's accusation of carrying out a vilification campaign against him, saying that he would not like to respond to a person who has been chargesheeted by the CBI.
In a bid to prevent Suresh Kalmadi from attending the London Olympics, the Sports Ministry shot off a letter to IOA, requesting the sports body not to facilitate the tainted administrator's visit to UK on "ethical grounds".
Union Minister Farooq Abdullah on Thursday took exception to Sports Minister Ajay Maken's remarks on Union Cabinet's "internal deliberations" on the National Sports Development Bill, accusing him of violating oath of secrecy.
Days after the Indian Boxing Federation (IBF) had complained about delay in implementation of a government scheme and non-payment of incentives to coaches, the Sports Ministry has promised to 'resolve these issues' as soon as possible.
Sports Minister Ajay Maken on Friday sought to steer clear of the furore surrounding the controversial tennis team selection for the London Olympics but said the feuding players should put national interest first.
Sports minister Ajay Maken has refused to intervene in the selection crisis that has shaken Indian tennis, and left it to the All India Tennis Association to take a final call on the men's doubles combination for the London Olympics.
The Congress claims the Ashok Gehlot government has the numbers to prove majority in case there is a floor test.
Taking serious note of the payment dispute between some Australian firms and organisers of the Delhi Commonwealth Games, the Sports Ministry has ordered the latter to settle the issue within ten days. Ajay Maken, the new sports minister, instructed the sports secretary to get in touch with the government officials in the Commonwealth Organising Committee and clear all legitimate payments after proper verification.
Legendary athlete Milkha Singh has supported prompt action taken by Sports Minister Ajay Maken, for taking prompt action against Ukrainian Coach and two Indian coaches who were training women athletes at NIS Patiala.
Vijay Kumar Malhotra, acting president of the Indian Olympic Association, hit out at Minister for Sports and Youth affairs Ajay Maken for taking "hasty action" in the doping scandal, in which eight women athletes tested positive in out-of-competition tests.
Amid clamour for Bharat Ratna for Sachin Tendulkar, the government has modified rules to pave way for eligibility of sportspersons for the highest civilian award of the country. The new rules, providing for eligibility of persons excelling in fields other than art, literature, science and public service for Bharat Ratna, were notified on November 16, Sports Minister Ajay Maken told the media in New Delhi.
The National Sports Federations, including the Board of Control for Cricket in India, will be treated as public authority and come under the Right to Information Act (RTI) under the proposed National Sports Development bill, Sports Minister Ajay Maken said in Bangalore on Monday.
Three days ahead of India's formal bid for the Under-17 Football World Cup in 2017, the AIFF received a shot in the arm as the central government gave its approval for hosting the prestigious event.
Football ace Baichung Bhutia came out in support of the Sports Development Bill, which seeks to bring in accountability and transparency in the country's sports associations, saying it has a provision under which 25 per cent of the posts (in associations) would be reserved for sports persons, which would help them use their expertise.
After the country's best-ever haul of six medals at the just-concluded London Olympics, the Government has set the goal much higher and the target for the 2020 Games is 25 medals.
'Shekhawat has no moral authority to continue as a Union minister and should resign so that the investigation is not influenced'
The Sports Minister said transparency in the working of National Sports Federations, including the BCCI, can be achieved by bringing them under the Right to Information Act.
Cracking the whip on the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) after receiving complaints from the participants at the London Paralympics, Sports Minister Ajay Maken issued a show cause notice to the sports body and sought a reply within 15 days.
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke has reportedly told Sports Minister Ajay Maken that organising the event will bring about a "big change in Indian football."
Clarifying that the government has not asked athletes to boycott the London Olympics over the Dow Chemicals sponsorship, Sports Minister Ajay Maken said that the matter has been pursued at a diplomatic level with the host nation.
Sport Minister Ajay Maken said he doesn't have the confidence that the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) can live up to the standards of transparency that hosting an international event like the Olympics or Asian Games demands.
Aiming to revive hockey fortunes in the country, Sports Minister Ajay Maken on Saturday announced that a top-class national institute will be established at the Dhyan Chand Stadium with initial budget of Rs 20 crore.
Even as the ongoing World Series Hockey struggles to make its presence felt in the absence of star Indian players, the Government of India today fully backed the lucrative league, with Sports Minister Ajay Maken even taking a dig at Hockey India for trying to scuttle the event.
She alleged the new military recruitment scheme would be destructive for the youth and the Army.
Faced with mounting pressure to drop his Olympic trip to London, a defiant Suresh Kalmadi has hit back at Ajay Maken, accusing the Sports Minister of carrying out a vilification campaign against him and called for his resignation.
Sports Minister Ajay Maken on Friday said though sacked CWG Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi, accused in a Games-related graft case, has been allowed by a Delhi Court to go to London for the upcoming Olympic Games, he should voluntarily desist from going to the mega event.
Unfazed by the rejection of his bill, Sports Minister Ajay Maken on Thursday said he would talk to his cabinet colleagues to convince them, but ruled out any dialogue with Board of Control for Cricket in India bigwigs.
Powerful union ministers ganged up to scuttle the draft Sports Development Bill 2011, which sought to increase transparency in all sporting bodies and federations. The Bill could not be passed in the just-concluded cabinet meeting. Renu Mittal explains why
The Parliamentary Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports deliberated on the proposed National Sports Development Bill and agreed that such a policy was needed to ensure professional management of sports in the country.
Sports Minister Ajay Maken on Thursday unveiled an ambitious programme named 'Operation Excellence London 2012' to prepare Indian athletes for next year's Olympic Games. Announcing the launch of 'Opex London 2012', Maken said the country expects more medals in London than earlier Olympic Games and to achieve that the ministry will implement the programme in a mission mode.
Union sports minister Ajay Maken, despite not wanting to be 'too intrusive', says he is uncomfortable with the idea of Suresh Kalmadi returning as president of Indian Olympic Association.
