Khelo India: All you need to know about the initiative

To promote sports and fitness in the country, Khelo India Youth Games are held every year in January or February. Held in two categories, under 17 and under 21, it is an excellent initiative and provides an opportunity to shine to young sport-stars.

So here we are with this short guide to the Khelo India initiative, including its inception, purpose, methodology and the rewards. Let us begin –

THE BEGINNING

First held in 2018, this grass-root talent hunt started as the Khelo India School Games. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 31, 2018, and has just held its third edition successfully. The event was renamed to Khelo India Youth Games in September 2018 and February 2019 saw the launch of Khelo India App at the Youth Parliament in New Delhi. The event includes a number of sports like Badminton, Gymnastics, Boxing, Judo, Kabaddi, Hockey, Basketball, Wrestling, Athletics, Football, Swimming, Weightlifting, Volleyball and Kho Kho.

THE REASON

According to the official website of Khelo India, the program “has been introduced to revive the sports culture in India at the grass-root level by building a strong framework for all sports played in our country and establish India as a great sporting nation.”

The initiative also has its own official pledge which has been taken by over 16 lakh people to date. It says –
“We pledge to make sports a part of our lives, play sports and teach how to play. With the help of Sports, we will create a healthy India. We will promote the games and encourage the players. We pledge that going beyond victory and defeat we will unite and through sports, bring honor to our nation. Through determination, we will bring prosperity and create a new India…”

HOW IT WORKS

Selected kids from across the country compete with each other in a variety of games. A talent hunt committee for each sport identifies the top 2 sportsperson in that sport and these students along with others, who showed their mettle in the games, are given an annual scholarship. The students, totaling to a thousand every year, are given INR 5 lakh annually for 8 years to prepare them for international sporting events.