Parliament passes the National Anti-Doping Bill 2022

Source: The post is based on the article “Parliament passes the National Anti-Doping Bill 2022” published in PIB on 3rd August 2022.

What is the News?

Parliament has passed the National Anti-Doping Bill 2022.

Note: Doping basically means athletes taking illegal substances to make their performance better. Although doping enhances performance, there are health risks involved in taking them and they’re banned by sports governing bodies.

What are the key provisions of the National Anti-Doping Bill 2022?

Prohibits Doping: 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 including forfeiture of medals, points and prizes, ineligibility to participate in a competition or event for a prescribed period, and financial sanctions.

Statutory backing 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. Functions of the Agency include planning, implementing and monitoring anti-doping activities, and investigating anti-doping rule violations.

National Board for Anti-Doping in Sports: The board 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.  

– The Board will constitute a National Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel for determining the consequences of anti-doping rule violations. Further, the Board will constitute a National Anti-Doping Appeal Panel to hear appeals against decisions of the Disciplinary Panel.