News Highlight
Anti-Dopping Bill seeks to create a statutory framework for the National Anti-Doping Agency and National Dope testing laboratory.
Key Takeaways
- After a detailed discussion, Rajya Sabha unanimously passed the bill.
- The legislation was cleared last week in Lok Sabha.
- Youth Affairs Minister said the law would regulate anti-doping activities in sports.
What is doping?
- It is the use of a substance (such as an anabolic steroid or erythropoietin) or technique (such as blood doping) to illegally improve athletic performance.
Highlights of the Bill
- It prohibits doping in sports:
- The Bill prohibits athletes, athlete support personnel, and other persons from engaging in doping in sports.
- Violation of anti-doping rules may result in disqualification of results.
- Statutory status for NADA:
- Currently, anti-doping rules are implemented by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), which was established as a society.
- The Bill provides for constituting NADA as a statutory body headed by a Director General appointed by the central government.
- The National Board for Anti-Doping in Sports:
- The body will be established to make recommendations to the government on anti-doping regulations and compliance with international commitments on anti-doping.
- The Board will oversee the activities of NADA and issue directions to it.
- National Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel:
- The Board will constitute a National Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel for determining the consequences of anti-doping rule violations.
The Significance of the Bill.
- The bill seeks to improve agency coordination in the fight against doping and provide athletes with time-bound justice.
- It also aims to strengthen India’s will to uphold its international commitments to clean sports.
- The bill would help establish a robust, independent mechanism for anti-doping adjudication.
- The bill also would lend legal sanctity to the functioning of NADA and the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL).
Key Issues of the bill
- The qualifications of the Director General are not specified in the Bill and are left to be notified through Rules.
- The central government may remove the Director General from the office on the grounds of misbehaviour or incapacity or “such other ground”.
- Leaving these provisions to the central government’s discretion may affect the Director General’s independence.
- Under the Bill, the Board has powers to remove the members of the Disciplinary Panel and Appeal Panel on grounds specified by regulations and are not specified in the Bill.
- Further, there is no requirement to give them an opportunity of being heard. This may affect the independent functioning of these panels.
National Anti-Doping Agency
- It was set up as a registered society under the Societies Registration Act of 1860 in 2005 with a mandate for Dope-free sports in India.
- The primary objective is to implement anti-doping rules per the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) code.
- The NADA has the necessary authority and responsibility for:
- Planning, coordinating, implementing, monitoring and advocating improvements in Doping Control,
- Cooperating with other relevant national organisations, agencies and other Anti-Doping Organisations etc.
World Anti-Doping Agency.
- It was established in 1999 as an international independent agency composed and funded equally by the sports movement and governments of the world.
- It is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.
- Its key activities include scientific research, education, development of anti-doping capacities, and monitoring of the World Anti-Doping Code – the document harmonising anti-doping policies in all sports and all countries.
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Content Source: Indian Express