India on Track CEO Vivek Sethia opines that Indian sports organizations need to have a long-term vision
Founder and CEO of India on Track, Vivek Sethia, believes that Indian sports organizations should not begin their processes with short-term objectives only. Instead, they should prepare a strategy that can be sustained over a longer period.
In an exclusive chat with Taruka Srivastava on Sportskeeda's Facebook page, Vivek Sethia highlighted that his group, India on Track, was a 'for-profit' organization. He pointed out that many Indian sports bodies began working for charitable or CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) purposes, and when their financial situation worsened, they pulled out the plug.
Most of the Indian sports ventures are either charitable or CSR-driven: Vivek Sethia
When asked about the functioning of his organization India on Track, Vivek Sethia replied,
"I want first to say that we are a for-profit organization, and one of the challenges that the Indian sports ecosystem faces at the grassroots level is that most of the ventures in India are either charitable in nature or CSR-driven. And, what it does is, it always jeopardizes the sustainability of these ventures."
"If I am just paying out of the will of my heart for a project and if my money becomes tight later, the project just dies down. If an organization is putting in its CSR funds, and if their CSR strategy changes, the project dies," Vivek Sethia continued.
The India on Track CEO lauded Tata, JSW, and Reliance for their phenomenal work in Indian sports through CSR and charitable ventures before adding,
"But we strongly believe that if the venture is not sustainable, it will just not work. And that has been, in my opinion, the number one problem of grassroots sports."
Vivek Sethia signed off by saying that Indian sports ventures should not be driven solely by someone else's donations.