DW BUREAU / Chandigarh In line with the commitment of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to once again make Punjab a leading state in sports, the Sports department has launched the 'Olympian Balbir Singh Senior Scholarship Scheme' to encourage the sportsmen at the grassroots level to prepare them for international level competitions. This was announced by Punjab Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer during a press conference at Punjab Bhavan here today. Under this scheme, Punjab players who win any medal in the Senior National will get Rs. 8000 per month stipend for one year. Similarly, Junior National medal winners will get stipend of Rs. 6000 per month for one year. The player will get this amount per month for one year, regardless of the Gold, Silver or Bronze medal he has won. An annual budget of Rs. 12.50 Crore has been reserved by the sports department for this scheme. Meet Hayer said that Punjab is the first state in the country to start this unique scheme for eminent national players named after the legendary Hockey player Balbir Singh Senior. The Minister further said that health insurance is also being started for the players. Apart from providing sports equipment to the players, New coaches to be recruited at large scale. The diet of day scholar players has been increased from Rs. 100 to Rs 125 and the diet of hostel players has been increased from Rs. 200 to Rs. 225. A new sports policy is being brought with the opinion of sports experts, the purpose of which is to recognize the talent of the players and prepare them for the competitions. Giving diet, coaching, sports equipment, jobs and cash prizes for the players will be a key factors of the policy. (editor@dailyworld.in)