Khelo India Scheme - To Propel India at the Olympics

Press Information Bureau (January 6th) deals with the most important scheme launched by the Government of India with a goal to achieve massive progress in the medal standings at the Olympics. This was launched to address the age old problem of India’s performance at the Olympics. The major issue was lack of grass root program to tap the talent. This program has been envisaged with the objective of securing large number of medals and propelling India among top 10 ranked nations at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

Aspirants would find this topic very helpful while preparing for the IAS Exam.

Khelo India Scheme – Objective, Origin and Sports Programs Subsumed

1. It is a national programme which aims to develop grassroots level talent by providing them with a national level platform.
2. Khelo India Scheme is based on Gujarat’s model of “Khel Mahakumbh” in which schools and colleges from across the country participate in 27 different disciplines.
3. It has been formed after the merger of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan (RGKA), Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme (USIS) and National Sports Talent Search Scheme (NSTSS).

Khelo India – Important Features of the Program

1. An unprecedented Pan Indian Sports Scholarship scheme, which would cover 1,000 most talented young athletes each year across select sports disciplines.
2. Each athlete selected under the scheme shall receive an annual scholarship worth Rs. 5.00 lakh for 8 consecutive year
3. This is the first time ever that a long-term athlete development pathway would be made available to gifted and talented youngsters to excel in competitive sports and will create a pool of highly competitive athletes who can compete to win at the world stage.
4. The Programme aims to promote 20 universities across the country as hubs of sporting excellence, which would enable talented sportspersons to pursue the dual pathway of education and competitive sports.
5. The Programme also aims at creating an active population with a healthy lifestyle.
6. The Programme would cover about 200 million children in the age group of 10-18 under a massive national physical fitness drive, which will not only measure the physical fitness of all children in the age group but also support their fitness-related activities.
7. This programme strives to promote “Sports for All” as well as “Sports for Excellence.”

Khelo India – Benefits of the Program

1. The power of sport in promoting gender equity and social inclusiveness is also fully recognized and special measures are provided to achieve these objectives.
2. The programme also aims at engaging youth living in disturbed and deprived areas, in sporting activities, to wean them away from unproductive and disruptive activities and mainstream them in the nation-building process.
3. The programme strives to raise the standards of competition, both at school and college level, to have maximum access to organized sports competitions.
4. It also includes the use of latest user-friendly technology in all aspects of sports promotion such as the use of mobile apps for the dissemination of sports training; National Sports Talent Search portal for talent identification; interactive website for indigenous sports; GIS-based information system for locating and using sports infrastructure, etc.
5. This programme strives to promote “Sports for All” as well as “Sports for Excellence.”

The above details would help candidates prepare for UPSC 2020.

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