Indian Olympic Association President N. Ramachandran said that the IOA asked the government for permission to bid for the 2032 Olympics and 2030 Asian games "as a part of a drive to put the country at the heart" of the int'l sporting community, according to Sudipo Ganguly of REUTERS. Ramachandran added that the IOA also wanted India to host the Asian Beach Games in '20, the Olympic Council of Asia's general assembly that year, and the IOC session in '21. The aim, Ramachandran said, was to "use the engagement as a catalyst for the growth of Olympic sports in India and to help improve the country's miserable standing in pretty much every sport apart from cricket." Dismissing concerns about whether India can "afford to stage such huge sporting spectacles," he said that the country was "one of the few in the region that did have the means." He said that it was up to the government to "set the wheels in motion." Ramachandran: "From my part, I am telling them if you bid, I will make sure you get it." He was confident India, which has Asia's third-largest economy, "would be capable of meeting the costs." He said, "India is one of the emerging economies. Even assuming you spend $12 billion on an Olympic event, $6 billion will be given to you by the IOC. What is $6 billion over a period of eight years for a country which has the size of the economy which India has today?" (REUTERS, 6/21).
