NEW DELHI: The Union Sports Ministry has dedicated a total of 75 Khelo India Centres (KICs) to the state of Uttar Pradesh across 75 districts.
These centres will be entrusted with one sports discipline each as per the proposal of the UP state government. It was also decided that the sports disciplines recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports shall be eligible for Khelo India Centres.
A one-time initial grant of Rs 500,000 each will be provided for the preparation and upgradation of sports fields, purchase of sports equipment, sports kits, and so on. The annual recurring grant for every centre is also Rs 500,000 each for a period of four years, which can be extended further for remuneration of the past champion athlete as coach, support staff, purchase of equipments, sports kits, consumables, participation in competition and events.
All well and good from an announcement point of view. But from a sports infrastructure development perspective, how such a small amount translates into anything of real tangible value remains suspect.
Be that as it may, the disciplines selected include: Table Tennis, Athletics, Judo, Hockey, Badminton, Lawn Tennis, Wrestling, Football, Swimming, Boxing, Archery, Shooting, Weightlifting and Kabaddi (indigenous sport).
The UP Government will now have to hire past “champion athletes” for all these centres. As a part of the government’s vision to strengthen the sports ecosystem in the country at the grassroots level, a low-cost, effective sports training mechanism has been worked out wherein past “champion athletes” would become coaches and mentors for youngsters, running sports training in an autonomous manner, and earning their livelihood.
1,000 new KICs are planned to be opened over the period of 4 years, with at least one KIC in each district of the country.
