Railway Minister Piyush Goyal approves new sportsperson promotion policy

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal today approved a new policy to promote railway sportspersons and coaches as officers, acknowledging not just those who win medals in Olympics but also those that produced medal winners.

All sportspersons and coaches awarded with Padma Shris will also be promoted as officers, a statement from the ministry said.

In a statement here, the railway ministry said sportspersons who have made two appearances in Olympics and won medals in Asian Games or Commonwealth Games deserve promotion to the rank of officer.

Further, railway sportspersons who are winners of awards like Arjuna or Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna would be entitled for the said promotion, the statement read.

"Any coach whose trainees have produced at least three medal winning performances in Olympic Games or World Cups or World Championships or Asian Games or Commonwealth Games, including at least one medal in Olympic Games, would be eligible for the officer rank," it said.

This liberalised promotion policy will act as an incentive to the country's elite sportspersons and coaches, the statement read.

In April 2018, during the felicitation function organised by the Railway Sports Promotion Board for the medal winners of CWG 2018 at National Rail Museum, Goyal had said the promotion policy will revamped.