While only a limited number of sports persons make a full-time living out of professional sports, there are several scholarships and awards for exceptional performance at state, national and international levels. 

The Department of Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry of Human Resource Development has instituted scholarships for students of secondary schools/colleges/university, selected for excellence in sports at the state or national levels. 

Secondary school students must be 17 years of age at the time of application for scholarships, which is renewable up to the age of 18. The value of a scholarship for those who have qualified in a national sports event is Rs 2,700 p.a; and that for qualifying at the state level is Rs 1800 p.a. 

The Department also bestows awards for exceptional performances in international sports events. To mention a few special awards of the department, the gold, silver and bronze medal winners at the Olympics and official world championships are given Rs 5 lakh, Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 lakh respectively in individual events. 

In team events, each member of the team receives at least 50 per cent of the amount mentioned above for corresponding individual events. In the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, winners of the gold, silver and bronze medals are entitled to Rs 1 lakh, Rs 75,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively in the individual events. 

Similarly, special awards have been instituted for billiards and snooker as well as for chess. The winner and runner-up in the World Amateur Championship in billiards and snooker are entitled to Rs 2 lakh and Rs 1 lakh respectively. Those achieving a first, second and third position in Amateur Asian/Commonwealth Championships receive Rs 1 lakh, Rs 75,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively.

While the prize money for individual events in chess in the Asian and Commonwealth Championships is the same as for billiards and snooker, that for the winner and losing finalist in the Official Open World Championships is Rs 5 lakh and Rs 3 lakh respectively. Chess players winning the titles of the stakes of the International Grand Master and International Master receive Rs 2 lakh and Rs 50,000 respectively. 

Junior sportspersons winning the gold, silver and bronze medals in the world championships are awarded Rs 15,000, Rs 10,000, and Rs 7,000 respectively. In the Asian and Commonwealth Championships the first, second and third position holders receive Rs 10,000, Rs 7,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively.

Coaches who have groomed medal winners in the Olympics and Asian Games receive 30 per cent of the highest amount bagged by any one of that coach's trainees for the individual events. In team events, the coach receives 50 per cent of the amount granted to a member of the winning team. 

Cash prizes received under the scheme of Special Awards instituted by the Department of Youth Affairs and Sports are exempt from income tax. There are also other advantages in pursuing excellence in the field of sports. Sports persons can avail of admission in schools or colleges against the sports quota. 

Those who have earned sports scholarship can apply for admission to both professional and non-professional college courses under the sports quota. At a later stage, sports persons can avail of the sports quota to acquire a job, although it is limited to admission in the clerical grade, in various government and private concerns (like Central Industrial Security Force, Border Security Force, the railways, Income Tax Department, Customs and Central Excise Department, Post and Telecommunications Department, Police Department, the army, and some banks). 

However, outstanding performances in competitions at the national and international levels are rewarded with out-of-turn promotions.