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The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) was formed on April 17, 1951, to develop the shooting sport in India and impart training to civilians for self-defense.
The NRAI is headed by Digvijay Singh, a Member of Parliament and former minister of state for external affairs, who is its President. The secretary general is Baljit Singh Sethi.
Affiliations
The NRAI is affiliated to the following organizations:
• International Shooting Sport Federation
• Asian Shooting Confederation
• Commonwealth Shooting Federation
• Asian Clay Shooting Federation
• South Asian Shooting Confederation
• Indian Olympic Association
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Growing network
The NRAI network spans 53 affiliated state associations and units. Regular competitions are now being held at the national, state, district and club levels. Some universities have also recently extended recognition to this sport.
Efforts are on to commission new shooting ranges across the country, rope in foreign coaches and provide easy access to precision arms and ammunition.
New shooting ranges
The new ranges are being built on a very large score. The newly built ranges at Pune are of World Standard. It is equipped with the latest SIUS ASCOR electronic system on 50M, 25M and 10M range. The shotgun ranges are equipped with Laporte machines. The ranges at Mhow and Hyderabad are also of international standard. The new ranges are being built at New Delhi for Commonwealth Games and Badal, Punjab.
Foreign Coaches
The NRAI has always strived to rope in international coaches for Trap, Skeet, Rifle & Pistol events. The services of Mr. Laszlo Szucsak (Rifle), Marcello Dradi (Trap & Double Trap) and Ms Shan (Skeet) are being provided to shooters.
Arms and ammunition
The policy on import of arms and ammunition has been liberalized by Govt. of India. Now, any shooter who participates in the National Championship is allowed to import weapons and ammunition duty free subject to achieving the Minimum Qualifying Scores as laid down in the NRAI Match Book.
Import of air weapons is under OGL and members of NRAI/rifle clubs are allowed to import .177 air weapons duty free.
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International exposure
The NRAI has convinced the Government that shooting as a sport can win medals in international competitions. As a result, from time to time, shooters picked by NRAI have not only participated in international competitions but also turned in exemplary performances such as at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne (Australia) in March 2006, World Championships in July 2006, World Cup Finals and Beijing Olympic Games 2008.
Selection process
Selection for international competitions is strictly based on merit. Regular selection trials are held both for National squad shooters and others. Selection is based on scores achieved in these trials as well as national and international meets. The selection committee comprises the President and Secretary General of NRAI, National Coach, Government Observer and an ex-eminent shooter.
National squad
The NRAI has laid down qualifying standards to gain entry in the National Squad. These are updated periodically depending on the prevailing performance of shooters. Those who meet the criteria are provided regular training under a qualified coach and their boarding and lodging expenses for the coaching camps are borne by the Government. They are also issued free ammunition, clay targets and paper targets.
An NRAI team closely watches the individual performances.
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Competitions
Every year, the NRAI organizes the following shooting competitions:
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National Shooting Championship Competitions (NSCC) |
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All India G.V. Mavlankar Shooting Championship (AIGVMSC) |
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Sardar Sajjan Singh Sethi Memorial Masters Shooting Championship |
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Kumar Surendra Singh Memorial Shooting Championship |
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All India Kumar Surendra Singh Memorial Inter School Shooting Championship |
Global Games
Since 1982, the following competitions have been held in India:
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3rd Commonwealth Youth Games, Pune |
2008 |
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Asian Clay Shooting Championship, Jaipur |
2008 |
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Afro-Asian Games (Shooting), Hyderabad |
2003 |
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Asian Clay Shooting Championship Delhi |
2003 |
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ISSF World Cup (Shotgun) Delhi |
2003 |
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ISSF World Cup (Shotgun) Delhi |
2000 |
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ISSF World Cup (Shotgun) Delhi |
1997 |
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1ST Commonwealth Shooting Championship, Delhi |
1995 |
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2nd South Asian Shooting Championship, Delhi |
1995 |
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VII SAF Games, Chennai |
1995 |
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IX Asian Games (Shooting), Delhi |
1982 |
ISSF Judges License
The NRAI has a large pool of qualified judges, holding the ‘A’ and ‘B’ ISSF Judges Licenses, who are eligible to conduct shooting competitions according to rules and regulations laid by the international body. The NRAI also issues ‘C’ licenses.
Now, the need is being felt to appoint technical officials with adequate knowledge about working of the electronic target system. In September 2005, a course was conducted to this effect in New Delhi by Colonel Derek Ivy of the UK. At the end of the course, 10 of the 25 participants – 6 from India and 2 each from Iran and Thailand - were granted ISSF ‘A’ or ‘B’ EST license.
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