When news of the Sports Budget cut by the Institute broke, it was feared that BOSM would be seriously affected. However, it was later understood that the Sports Council had planned to pursue additional rounds of budget discussions. In an interview, Jayshil Joshi, the Sports Secretary confirmed the success of those discussions.

The Sports Budget is a comprehensive document that includes the activities of sports teams over both semesters. It allocates funds for team equipment and kits, registration money for various outstation tournaments as well as coaches’ salaries. Considering the scope of the Budget, it came as a shock to the Sports Council when the Institute unilaterally decided to slash the budget from seventeen lakhs to nine lakhs this year. In subsequent discussions, the Sports Council managed to wrangle an additional lakh from the Institute, but the deep cuts affected BOSM significantly. Earlier orders for equipment had to be cancelled, funds for coaches and referees who had already been hired ran scarce, and teams for the first time were forced to foot the expenses for kits. The budget cuts would have prevented BOSM from even being conducted, but urgent discussions with the Director and Vice-Chancellor gave the Council a free hand to spend, with no final figure arrived at.

More troublingly, there was never a justification from the Institute’s side for the cuts. The Chief Financial Officer allots an amount during meetings (in which no student representative can participate). There was however no consideration of the increased intake this year, and the consequent maintenance costs among other expenses. The Institute’s probable reasoning considered that other institutes allot roughly ten lakhs each year – failing to realize that unlike here in BITS, the Students’ Union elsewhere also contributes to the Sports Budget.

There are four basic spheres the Budget covers – Inventory, Team Kits, Coaches, Outstation Tournaments. Until last year, the Sports Secretary’s office did not have the financial right to handle these accounts, with coaches themselves in-charge.

Mismanagement and a lack of checks resulted in overspending, with the budget eventually totaling 22 lakhs last year. Earlier excesses may also have been a factor in the sudden cut.

While the budget this year has been adjusted to better reflect the needs of the Sports Council, it still is an interim budget. One hopes the Institute grants a budget more in step with the needs of the University, in the coming years.