MUMBAI (Reuters) - India will offer coaching jobs on the government's payroll for all athletes who represent the country at the London 2012 Olympic Games, the sports ministry said on Friday.
Sports minister Ajay Maken, in London for the Games, said roles would be up for grabs at the Sports Authority of India, which trains athletes in centres across the country.
The process of recruiting 200 coaches to help fill a total of 400 vacant positions was underway, the ministry said.
"The advertisement for the recruitment of coaches ... including the special provision for recruitment of Olympians will be issued shortly," the statement read.
The National Institute of Sports in Patiala will provide the athletes a diploma in coaching and they will not be required to pass any written examination or meet any qualification criteria.
The announcement is likely to come as good news for India's Olympic athletes, who mostly come from humble backgrounds and live life in obscurity, in sharp contrast to the fame and riches offered to the nation's cricketers.
The sports ministry was recently criticised after local media reported that Santhi Soundarajan, an athlete who was stripped of her 2006 Asian Games silver medal after a failed gender test, was working for a pittance at a brick kiln.
