At $300 per day, IOA officials’ Paris allowance doubled from last Olympics; athletes to get $50

Vinayak Padmadeo

New Delhi, June 24

In a classic case of sports administrators’ entitlement, the executive council members of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) will receive $300 per day in dearness allowance during their stay in Paris for the Olympics even as the Indian athletes will get only $50 per day.

As per the budget estimate for the Paris Games, the 12 executive council members will get $300 per day — which is a little over Rs 25,000 — for five days in the French capital. Interestingly, the executive members were paid $150 at the Tokyo Olympics. In contrast, the Indian athletes will get the same allowance as they received in the Tokyo Games.

The new dearness allowance rules were cleared during the executive council meeting held on December 26, just a few days after PT Usha took over as the new IOA president. As the president of a National Olympic Committee, Usha will be hosted by the International Olympic Committee in Paris.

The executive council members will also be paid ^1000 per day, which is a little less than Rs 90 thousand, for five days.

The only redeeming feature in the budget is that the IOA will be paying a participation allowance of Rs 2 lakh each to the athletes and Rs 1 lakh each to the coaches and support staff.

The IOA will not have to bear the whole burden as a lot of the expenses incurred, especially on the athletes and support staff, will be borne by the Sports Ministry.

Treasurer wants EC meeting

The budget estimate has once again opened old fissures within the already divided executive council. Usha wrote a letter to all the executive members to give their concurrence on the budget estimate.

“…I kindly request your concurrence on these budget estimates to facilitate timely implementation and smooth execution of our plans. You will notice that this also includes the funds that are sanctioned by the Government of India in support of our teams. Your prompt review and approval will be highly appreciated, as it will enable us to proceed without any delays,” Usha wrote in her letter.

In response, IOA treasurer Sahdev Yadav has requested her to call for an executive council meeting to discuss the budget. “…As the matter concerns financial approval for the Paris Olympic Games, it is my humble suggestion to call an executive committee meeting of Indian Olympic Association to finalise the budget estimates for Paris Olympic Games 2024,” he wrote back.