In News
- Recently, Parliament passed the National Anti-Doping Bill.
What do you mean by Doping?
- Meaning: The term “doping” refers to the use of prohibited medications, drugs, or treatments by athletes with the intention of improving athletic performance.
- Regulation: In 1967 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned doping, and in 1999 the IOC led the initiative to form the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
- WADA forms the backbone of anti-doping laws and testing worldwide, and assists in setting the standard for other agencies and sports.
- WADA’s main activities include education of the health risks of doping, scientific research of doping practices, development of anti-doping capabilities, and development of testing methods for doping detection.
- Criteria that constitutes doping:
- It enhances performance
- It presents a risk to the athlete’s health
- It is contrary to the spirit of the sport
- Issues associated with doping:
- Athletes would often suffer adverse health effects and even premature death that seemed to be associated with the doping practices.
- Stunted growth and disruption of puberty in children.
- Steroid use can be associated with depression, and in some cases, suicide.
Major provisions of the Bill
- Statutory authority
- The Bill is intended to provide a statutory framework for the operation of the National Anti-Doping Agency, the National Dope Testing Laboratory and other dope testing laboratories and for creation of a National Board for Anti-Doping in Sports to strengthen anti-doping activities in sport.
- Statutory framework in the form of legislation for prohibition of doping in sports and enforcing anti-doping activities in the country.
- Investigation
- The bill provides for planning, implementing, and monitoring anti-doping activities as well as investigating anti-doping rule violations.
- Prohibition
- The legislation prohibits athletes, athlete support personnel, and other persons from engaging in doping in sports.
- Punishment
- The violation of anti-doping rules may result in disqualification of results including forfeiture of medals, points, and prizes, ineligibility to participate in a competition or event for a prescribed period, and financial sanctions.
- The proposed Bill intends to accomplish:
- Building institutional capabilities in anti-doping and enabling hosting of major sports events;
- Protecting rights of all sportspersons;
- Ensuring time-bound justice to athletes;
- Enhancing cooperation among agencies in fighting doping in sports;
- Reinforcing India’s commitment to international obligations for clean sports;
- Independent mechanism for anti-doping adjudication;
- Providing legal sanctity to National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) & National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL);
- Establishing more Dope Testing Labs;
- Creating job opportunities both, directly & indirectly; and
- Creating opportunities for academic research, science and manufacturing relating to Anti-Doping.
- Establishing standards for the manufacturing of nutritional supplements for sports in India.
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Facts/ Data
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Significance of the Bill
- Club of select countries
- India will now join the League of Nations like the US, China, France, Australia, Japan, S Korea to have a law and dope test laboratory.
- Around 30 countries have their own Anti-Doping Law.
- Increase the testing capacity
- India could carry out only about 6,000 tests a year at present and the proposed legislation would help increase the testing capacity significantly.
- For holding any major international championship, the number of tests required could be as high as 10,000 a month.
- Testing facility
- The Bill will also pave the way for establishing more Dope Testing Laboratories in the country.
- Samples from 16 countries were tested in laboratories located in India.
- Focus on the field of sports medicine
- All competitions should be brought under NADA and sought more focus on the field of sports medicine and science to help players recover from injuries.
- Awareness, education and research
- The passing of the Bill will help to increase awareness, education and research facilities related to anti-doping within the country.
Way Forward
- Strong message to the world: The making of this Law will send a strong message to the world that India is very serious about sports, sportspersons and tackling doping.
- Highest standards of integrity: The new Law will ensure highest standards of integrity while participating and preparing for sports competitions, domestically and internationally.
- UNESCO convention: It also seeks to give effect to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation International Convention against doping in sports and compliance with such other obligations and commitments.
- Sports infrastructure: the government will leave no stone unturned in the promotion of sports and enhancing facilities for the sportspersons and creating sports infrastructure.
- North-east India: Government has worked on Act East policy as athletes from the northeast have made an immense contribution to a sports arena in India.
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National Anti Doping Agency (NADA)
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Source: TH
