Khelo India to continue till 2025-26
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New Delhi, Mar 26: In a significant development towards enhancing sports at a national-level, the Sports Ministry has decided to extend the "Khelo India Program" from 2021-22 to 2025-26. It has also furnished Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) memorandum to the Ministry of Finance to extend the annual event.
"The Ministry has decided to extend Khelo India scheme from 2021-22 to 2025-26. The Ministry has furnished an Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) memorandum to the Ministry of Finance for extension/continuation of the Khelo India Scheme from 2021-22 to 2025- 26," the Sports Ministry said in a statement.
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As per the memorandum to Finance Ministry, an amount of Rs. 8,750 crore has been estimated as a financial implication of new Khelo India Scheme. "An amount of Rs 8750 crore has been estimated as financial implication of the new Khelo India Scheme (2021-22 to 2025-26) in the EFC memorandum furnished to the Ministry of Finance. An amount of Rs 657.71 crore has been allocated in the Budget Estimate (B.E.) for the year 2021-22 under the Khelo India Scheme," it added.
This initiative will encourage the young athletes to prove their mettle on stage in upcoming edition on a large scale. It will play a significant role in building sporting culture in India in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s idea of importance of sports.
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The first edition of the initiative was held in Delhi while the second and third editions were held in Pune and Assam respectively. The fourth edition of Khelo India will be held in Panchkula, Haryana after Tokyo Olympics.
Khelo India initiative was launched on the basis of Gujarat’s Khel Mahakumbh. Gujarat-based sporting event was initiated by Narendra Modi when he was Chief Minister of the state. So, this event was then launched by the central government with the aim of building a sporting culture across the country.
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This initiative plays a significant role in grassroots development of several sports over the years. It organises structured sports competition with the aim of encouraging mass participation from youth. Apart from that, it also focuses on building athletes who can win medal for India at Olympics. The event is organised annually in January month usually.
