Govt to open 143 Khelo India centres across 7 States

New Delhi: The Sports Ministry has decided to set up 143 Khelo India centres across seven States with a total budget of Rs 14.30 crore in its bid to nurture talent at the grassroots level.

These centres will be set up in Maharashtra, Mizoram, Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. Each centre will be entrusted with one sports discipline.

The Khelo India centres have been launched by the Sports Ministry in partnership with State governments to ensure the availability of grassroots-level infrastructure across the country.

”It is our endeavour to make India one among the top 10 countries in the 2028 Olympics. To fulfil this goal we need to identify and nurture a large number of talented sportspersons from an early age,” Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju said in a statement. ”With the availability of good coaches and equipments at the district level Khelo India centres, I am confident that we will be able to find the right children for the right sport and at the right time.”

In June 2020, the ministry 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.

While 217 such centres are already in place across several States, the ministry had decided to open two centres each in every district of the North-East, Jammu & Kashmir, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Ladakh.

The responsibility of hiring coaches for these centres lies with the respective State governments, the ministry said.

State-wise Khelo India centres: Maharashtra: 36 Khelo India centres in 30 districts with a budget estimate of Rs 3.60 crore.

Mizoram: 2 Khelo India centres in Kolasib district with a budget estimate of Rs 20 lakh.

Arunachal Pradesh: 52 Khelo India centres in 26 districts with a budget estimate of Rs 4.12 crore. Madhya Pradesh: 4 Khelo India centres with a budget estimate of Rs 40 lakh.

Karnataka: 31 Khelo India centres with a budget estimate of Rs 3.10 crore.

Manipur: 16 Khelo India centres with a budget estimate of Rs 1.60 crore. Goa: 2 Khelo India centres with a budget estimate of Rs 20 lakhs.