The Hindu : Sport / Shooting : Govt. sop for national marksmen

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 10, 2007
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Sport - Shooting

Govt. sop for national marksmen

Principal Correspondent

NEW DELHI: After years of haggling over issues other than sports, the Government of India has finally granted Indian shooters duty-free import of arms and ammunition.

The latest move to liberalise the import of arms for the national shooters achieving minimum qualifying scores (MQS) as set by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) will give a major boost to the sport ahead of next year's Olympic Games in Beijing.

According to the notification issued by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, all shooters achieving MQS as specified in the NRAI Match Book at the National shooting championship competitions, will be able to import arms, ammunition and equipment without paying customs duty.

Welcome decision

"The liberalisation of the norms came about after sustained persuasion at the various levels including the Ministry of Home," the NRAI said in a statement here while welcoming the decision.

Shooters can individually import 15,000 rounds of ammunition every year. The ban on import was slapped way back in 1988 but relaxed in 1993 for those winning medals at recognised international tournaments, Arjuna Awardees, and shooters who achieved up to fourth position in individual or team events in the open National championship or National Games.

The norms were further modified in 2001 when the benefit was extended to the top-25 national level shooters in senior, junior and sub-junior categories.

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