From Commonwealth gold to Cabinet: Minister Shreyasi Singh’s blueprint to ‘send 10 Bihar athletes to 2036 Olympics’

Nationally acclaimed shooter and two-time Jamui BJP MLA Shreyasi Singh is the youngest minister in Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Cabinet. Singh, who is the daughter of former Union minister the late Digvijay Singh, currently holds the Sports and IT portfolio in the state. She speaks to The Indian Express on her vision for sports infrastructure in Bihar, plans for grassroots talent promotion and ways to bridge the rural-urban divide in the IT sector. Excerpts: What steps has the Bihar government taken to build sports infrastructure, and what is the plan for reviving the Moin-ul-Haq Stadium in Patna?

Shreyasi Singh: We have already built an international-level sports stadium at Rajgir, Nalanda. We have also set up the Sports University of Bihar there, making us the seventh state in the country to have such a university. We have also received a grant for it from the University Grants Commission (UGC). Besides, Rajgir is a Centre of Excellence for sports like wrestling, weightlifting, archery and hockey.

As we move forward, we are developing more Centres of Excellence and academies. We are also getting a cricket stadium in Rajgir, which has nearly completed construction and is ready to go. We have a national-level facility with eight badminton courts in Bhagalpur, which is one of the best facilities in India. Our achievements in the field of sports are less advertised.

As a sportsperson myself, I understand the importance of good sports infrastructure. We have already recorded our presence at the national level by hosting some national and international events in the last three years. For Moin-ul-Haq Stadium, we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA). The stadium’s revamp is on top of my priority chart as the Sports Minister.

Why has the expansion of major stadiums been slow, especially around Patna, and how is the department managing budget constraints while planning new infrastructure?

Shreyasi Singh: We are building stadiums and raising sports infrastructure in several districts in a phased manner. There are nine commissionerates in Bihar – one Centre of Excellence in Rajgir, and eight more Centres of Excellence will be opened for eight different Olympic or Asian Games-level sports in different parts of the state. If we do not have roads or good connectivity for people or goods, spending an equal amount on sports stadiums would not be fair to public welfare.

When we compare the sports budget before 2020 with the last budget, the five-year sports budget has gone up by almost 600 per cent. It is still lower than expected, but the growth shows our commitment. We have allocated Rs 400 crore for the infrastructure in Rajgir. Bihar is also one of the only states in the country that has implemented playground or khel-maidan projects at the panchayat level, and we are planning to create youth clubs at the panchayat level to promote sports on a larger scale. We also have the Mashal Yojna, which is helping us identify talent at the grassroots level and nourish and enhance it. We have successfully completed the talent-identification stage.

How will the planned sports academies function in terms of training, accommodation and education for athletes?

Shreyasi Singh: We are looking at opening several academies where children can be nurtured through skill training. Their accommodation and lodging will be taken care of, and their education will also be managed so that no child is left behind because they are into sports. Alongside these academies and Centres of Excellence, we want to enhance sports science. It is a field that is very new to the world and to India. Since the sports department is only one and a half years old, we want to get on with this trend early and introduce sports science so that it is not a new concept when an athlete goes outside Bihar. Sports science includes recovery, rehabilitation, nutrition, mental fitness, strength and power training.

As a sportsperson yourself, what changes have you observed in Bihar’s sports culture over the last decade?

Shreyasi Singh: I have seen change first-hand. In 2008–09, when I won my first international medal and returned from Finland, athletes from Haryana and Delhi were received by their respective federations, but nobody came from Bihar. It was disheartening. But by 2018, when I won the Commonwealth Games gold medal, the difference was huge – Bihar celebrated that medal in the chowks and chaurahas like it was their own, with no dearth of stages, opportunities, felicitations, VIPs or sponsorships.

In 2011, at the National Games in Jharkhand, Bihar barely had athletes and returned with zero medals. But in the recent National Games in Uttarakhand, we returned with a record 11 medals and had around 250-300 athletes. The graph of sports in Bihar is going up. We may not yet be at the world level or among the top states, but work is happening in the right direction, and we need to take it forward. I have seen this change throughout my athletic career.

What schemes are currently running under the Sports Department, and how are they being monitored?

Shreyasi Singh: There is a weekly review of all schemes. Since the department is new and has only been functioning for one and a half years, the policies are recent. We have schemes to identify grassroots talent, provide scholarships to national and international athletes, and route athletes to Centres of Excellence for performance enhancement. We also have the Medal Lao, Naukri Pao Yojna through which medal-winning athletes can avail government jobs. Within one and a half years, 84 athletes are now working with the Sports Department. That itself is a win. Other than the Youth Panchayat Club that is going to be developed, there is no new policy immediately upcoming, but regular review is essential.

What barriers do women athletes in Bihar face, and how do you aim to address them?

Shreyasi Singh: A woman is fighting a social battle, not a professional one. Every time she steps out or voices her opinion and someone tries to silence her – at home or work – she is fighting that battle. In sports, the differentiation has reduced significantly. Women receive equal pay in lawn tennis, cricket, and government scholarships, and thanks to many great women athletes, that gap has been bridged. But social challenges remain.

My doors are always open for women athletes to have closed-door conversations about issues they may be comfortable discussing only with a woman. The way forward for women’s security and empowerment is when women are directly attached to the main stimuli of any work. That inclusion needs to happen. In the Sports Department, if not as coaches, then women can be included at the support-staff level, which itself ensures women’s safety, security and empowerment.

By 2036, what level of sports representation do you envision for Bihar?

Shreyasi Singh: When the map of India is drawn at every Olympic Games, states like Tamil Nadu and Haryana have numbers next to their names, but Bihar used to have a big zero. In 2024, in both the Olympics and Paralympics, the number changed to one – we have para-athletes Shailesh Kumar and Sharad from Jamui. By 2036, I hope to add a zero to that number – at least 10 athletes from Bihar should represent India at the 2036 Olympic Games.

How will Bihar bridge the urban-rural divide in the IT sector?

Shreyasi Singh: By decentralising the Information Technology (IT) department to the gramin level. IT parks, AI Centres of Excellence and software technology parks (STPs) need to move beyond Patna to tier-2 cities. Most people working across the Indian IT sector, from lower levels to the top, are Biharis. While there may be a dearth of information technology in Bihar, that is not because Biharis don’t have intellect. What we are aiming at is to establish IT parks, AI Centres of Excellence and STPs, and generate employment for all those Biharis who would like to stay and work in the state.

Primarily, we need to work on giving employment to Biharis, and by creating that infrastructure, we are also opening our doors to anybody else in India who wants to come and work. Job opportunities are going to be open, and the IT sector is and will be mostly private. It is the backbone of Bihar’s economy, and everything that is digitalised is handled by the IT department.

So now it is time to go into privatisation with the government’s support, and that is what we are looking at. Yes, our responsibility is to give back to the land we come from, but if there is a private job opening, it will be open to the world. We have a single-window policy for investors. Patna airport has been upgraded due to increased demand, and we now have two more fully functioning airports – Purnea and Darbhanga. Even the Deoghar airport (in Jharkhand) benefits Bihar.

Now Bihar is opening AI Centres of Excellence. What is the idea behind this move?

Shreyasi Singh: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is booming worldwide. I am grateful to the honourable chief minister that, in the first Cabinet meeting after the elections, it was decided that three AI Centres of Excellence will be opened in Bihar so that the state can grow alongside global trends, and have its IT Department flourish via AI technology. These centres will focus on fields like art, agriculture, and education. Since AI is vast, we cannot dictate specifics. We must keep the doors open and engage with the market. Bihar today has one of the best IT systems possible, given our infrastructure and economic strength.

Aarya Bhushan is an intern with The Indian Express.