Khelo India Scheme Allocation Increases by 48% in Budget 2022-23
07 February 2022: With a view to achieving the twin objectives of mass participation and promotion of excellence in sports, the Government has decided to continue the Scheme of “Khelo India – National Programme for Development of Sports” over 15th Finance Commission Cycle (2021-22 to 2025-26) at an outlay of Rs.3,165.50 crore.
Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports, Anurag Singh Thakur stated “On behalf of the Ministry and all stakeholders, I express our deep gratitude to Prime Minister for extending the tenure of the Khelo India Scheme for another five years as well as bringing it into national prominence by increasing its budgetary allocation by 48% in Budget 2022 and including it in the PM’s Awards Scheme.”
The Khelo India Scheme is the flagship Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports. It aims at infusing sports culture and achieving sporting excellence in the country thus allowing the populace to harness the power of sports through its cross-cutting influence. The Khelo India programme includes playfield development; community coaching development; promotion of community sports; establishment of a strong sports competition structure at both school and university level as also for rural / indigenous sports, sports for persons with disability and women sports; filling up of critical gaps in sports infrastructure, including creation of hubs of sports excellence in select universities; talent identification and development; support to sports academies; implementation of a national physical fitness drive for school children and sports for peace and development.
From 2017 to 2021, three editions of Khelo India School and Youth Games, one edition of Khelo India University Games and two editions of Khelo India Winter Games have been hosted, giving talented young sportspersons a chance to win their way to a Khelo India Scholarship and be trained for higher levels of competition by the best coaches and in state-of-the-art sporting complexes. The Games have seen a participation of over 20,000 athletes, with close to 3,000 athletes identified as Khelo India Athletes (KIAs) who are currently training at Khelo India Academies, revamped SAI Centers, and are given an Out of Pocket Allowance of Rs.10,000 per month, besides being supported for training, equipment, diet and education.
