New Delhi, Aug 04: At a time when the nation's sportspersons are shining bright at the Commonwealth Games being held in Britain's Birmingham, Parliament recently passed a bill which seeks to provide a statutory framework for the functioning of the National Anti-Doping Agency and the National Dope Testing Laboratory.

The National Anti-Doping Bill, 2022 was passed by a voice vote in Rajya Sabha. It was cleared by Lok Sabha last week along with certain official amendments.

Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Anurag Thakur while responding to debate on the bill said that currently India can carry out only about 6,000 tests a year, and the law would help in increasing the testing capacity significantly. He said for holding any large international championship, the number of tests required could be as high as 10,000 a month.

Thakur also said that with passage of this bill, India will join the club select countries like, the US, China, Japan, and France, which have their own laws related to check doping in sports.

Parliament roundup: The Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2022 passed and more

The bill is intended to provide a "statutory framework for the operation of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) and other dope testing laboratories, and for the creation of a National Board for Anti-Doping in Sports to strengthen anti-doping activities in sport".

It seeks to give NADA powers of "investigation, levying sanctions for anti-doping rule violations, the disciplinary procedures to be adopted and the powers of inspection, sample collection and sharing and free flow of information." It also provides for the establishment of the NDTL and other dope testing laboratories.

Here's a deep dive into why India must criminalise doping in sports:

So, what is the Anti-doping bill, 2022? The National Anti-Doping Bill, 2022 was introduced by Sports Minister Anurag Thakur in the Lok Sabha in December 2021, but was later referred to a Standing Committee, over some concerns.

The Anti-doping bill prohibits athletes and other persons related to sports from engaging in doping. If any violation is found against the Anti-doping rules, then it may lead to disqualification of the particular person and they may have to face severe consequences like ineligibility to participate in a competition or event for a particular period.

The Anti-doping rules are enforced by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA). NADA will be the statutory body for the bill and will be headed by a Directed General appointed by the central government.

The bill, however, doesn't specify any qualification for the Director General of NADA. The bill mentions that the central government has the authority to remove the Director General from office on the grounds of misbehavior or incapacity or other grounds.

The bill has also mentioned that the Board has the powers to remove the members of the Disciplinary Panel and Appeal Panel on grounds that will be specified by the regulations and are not specified in the Bill.

What are the features of the Anti-Doping Bill, 2022?

The salient features of the Bill are as follows:

Statutory framework in the form of legislation for prohibition of doping in sports and enforcing anti-doping activities in the country.

The proposed Bill intends to accomplish: -

Does India really have a doping crisis? The bill comes in the backdrop of a number of high-profile Indian athletes failing dope tests. Despite consistent and diligent attempts to curb the practice, doping unfortunately remains a major problem in the Indian athletics circuit.

Five members of the contingent - three athletes and two para-athletes - have failed their dope tests, putting the country's alarming doping crisis under the microscope once again.

As per the latest report by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), India ranks third on the list for violating doping rules after Russia and Italy. In 2019, over 152 cases of doping violations were reported in India. As per the NADA report, over 1,181 Indian athletes failed dope tests between 2009 and 2021. Thus, Doping unfortunately remains a major cause of concern created by athletes all around the world.

Last month, Jumper Aishwarya Babu, one of India's prime contenders for a medal in the Commonwealth Games, failed her doping test during the National Inter-State Athletics Championships.

Sprinter S Dhanalakshmi was also barred for allegedly using illegal chemical substances, which came to light after her test was carried out by the Athletics Integrity United (AIU). She was the country's only participant in the women's 100m race, and a member of the 400m relay team.

Earlier in May, India's top discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur was provisionally suspended for failing a dope test conducted by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU). Kaur had made rapid strides last year and set a national record of 66.59 metre at the Indian Grand Prix IV in June to seal her berth at the Tokyo Olympics. She finished second in her group at Tokyo to advance to the final round, where she finished sixth with a best throw of 63.70 m.