The Sports Ministry has sanctioned Rs. 7.87 crore as an out-of-pocket allowance for 2,625 Khelo India athletes training in 99 Khelo India Academies and other academies across the country. These athletes were selected to train in various sporting disciplines under the Government’s Khelo India Talent Development Scheme, which is a grassroots level talent identification and nurturing endeavour of the government. The sanction is for the period October to December of 2019 and is paid to each athlete as a sum of Rs.10,000 a month.

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Over 2000 athletes train under Khelo India initiative

Of the total number of 2,625 athletes, 1312 are training in Khelo India Academies and apart from the out-of-pocket allowance, the identified sports talent under the Khelo India Talent Development Scheme is given full support in terms of coaching, sports science, injury prevention, diet, lodging and education.  Each athlete in a KI academy is given an annual scholarship of Rs 5 lakhs, of which 1 lakh 20 thousand is directly transferred to the athlete’s bank account as out-of-pocket allowance. The Khelo India Scheme acts as a feeder to other elite schemes of the government, including the Target Olympic Podium Scheme. Athletes like weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga, shooter Saurabh Chaudhary, swimmer Srihari Nataraj are all Khelo India finds who have later been inducted into the  Core Group or Developmental Group of TOPS.

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PM Modi launches Khelo India mobile app

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, February 27, launched the Khelo India Mobile App in New Delhi at the Vigyan Bhawan during the Youth Parliament Festival. Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and other dignitaries were present at the launch. The Khelo India App is a first-of-its-kind sports application, developed by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) that brings under one umbrella three significant features that together can help to create more awareness about sports and fitness among the masses in general and youngsters in particular. Developed as part of the Khelo India Scheme, which is the largest sporting talent identification and nurturing platform in the country, the application aims to further the Prime Minister’s vision to develop the sporting ecosystem in India and turn it into a global sporting superpower in the years to come

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