The Union Sports Ministry has given the go-ahead for a total of 143 Khelo India Centres across seven states on Monday with a budget estimate of Rs 14.30 crores.
The centres will cater to one sports discipline each and will be set up across Maharashtra, Mizoram, Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.
The Sports Ministry, in June 2020, had planned to open up as many as 1,000 new Khelo India Centres over a period of four years, with at least one centre in each district of the country.
An exception was made for the North-East states, Jammu & Kashmir, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Ladakh where two centres are expected to be established per district.
The respective state governments will now have to hire former athletes to facilitate the management of these centres in a proposed low-cost and effective sports training mechanism.
Financial assistance will be provided for the remuneration of the past champion athletes as coach, support staff, purchase of equipments, sports kits, consumables, participation in competition and events.
The Khelo India Centres have been launched by the Sports Ministry in partnership with the state governments to ensure the availability of grassroot-level sports infrastructure across the country.
ALSO READ:
Speaking about the decision, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Kiren Rijiju said: “It is our endeavour to make India one among the top 10 countries in the 2028 Olympics. To fulfill this goal we need to identify and nurture a large number of talented sportspersons from an early age. With the availability of good coaches and equipment facilities at the district-level Khelo India Centers, I am confident that we will be able to find the right children for the right sport and at the right time.”
Comments
SHARE