New Delhi: On a day when India continued to top the list of global doping offenders by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), the Sports Ministry assured that the National Anti-Doping Bill will be tabled in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament.India has 162 doping users on the AIU’s list, ahead of Kenya (148) and Russia (60). It includes individuals suspended for doping offenses due to testing positive for a banned substance and/or tampering, evading detection, trafficking or disappearance.Under the revised bill, trafficking and distribution of banned substances to athletes will be punishable by five years in prison.“Until now, athletes have been punished for such violations. They will be subject to suspension or ban. But we need to go after those who supplied them with these substances, including doctors,” said a health ministry official.The public consultation period for the revised bill expired on June 18. The monsoon session of Parliament will begin on July 20.The amendment is similar to one proposed in 2018. At the time, organized crime groups and anyone found guilty of supplying banned substances to athletes were liable to four years in prison and a fine of Rs 2 lakh.However, these provisions were removed from the bill that was eventually passed in 2022 and revised again last year, as the government supported the idea of ​​”preventive legislation, rather than criminal legislation”.India has also topped the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) global list for the past three years.
