Cricket is not the only game where India is a winner. In the last ten years, sports personalities have kept us in front of different Olympics, Paralympics, and world championships such as badminton, hockey, wrestling and athletics. But there are thousands of able young men and women whose talent never finds room to blossom by reason of lack of facilities, instruction or resources, who go unnoticed behind every champion.
The Khelo India National Programme for Development of Sports, launched in 2017 – 18 aims to change this reality. It is a nation-wide, well-structured program that:
- Bring sports to all schools and communities.
- Recruit talent in their formative years and develop them as professionals.
- Construction of high-grade sporting facilities in India.
- Develop a culture that turns sports into a career, rather than a pastime activity.
Background & Evolution of the Khelo India Programme
Before Khelo India, the sports schemes in India existed as a hodgepodge of ministries and state programs. This often led to the duplication of work and inconsistent results. The government has then combined all these plans into a single umbrella program called Khelo India, uniting 12 major verticals under a common structure.
Khelo India has:
- Held major multi-sport events such as the Youth Games & University Games.
- Provided scholarships to more than 3,000 long-term athlete development students.
- Introduced and improved playgrounds, stadiums, and synthetic fields in the country.
- Instituted institutionalised sport-based training centers through Sports Authority of India (SAI).
Core Objectives of the Khelo India Programme
1. Mass Participation
Sports are not a preserve of elite athletes; they belong to all. Khelo India does competitions at school, district, and state levels so that both rural as well as city children can participate.
2. Sporting Excellence
Competitions allow the identification of talented athletes who are provided with long-term scholarships, 8 years at 5 lakh rupees per year, which can be used to cover coaching, diet, travel, and equipment.
3. Infrastructure Development
The programme finances synthetic sports tracks, football fields, indoor sports halls, swimming pools, and multipurpose sports centers throughout India.
4. Inclusive & Indigenous Games
Encourages female Sports, para-athletes, and indigenous Sports like Mallakhamb, Kho-Kho, Gatka with both gender equity and cultural continuity.
The 12 Vertical Pillars of Khelo India
- Development in playfield.
- Receive Props community coaching development.
- Competition in state level.
- Talent finding & development.
- Upgrading and down scaling sports facilities.
- Funding of national/regional/State academies.
- School Physical Fitness Assessment Tests.
- Encouragement of sports in women.
- Sports promotion to persons with disabilities.
- Encouragement of rural and tribal sports in the country.
- Publicity of indigenous games.
- Psychological games once a year.
Major Events Under Khelo India
Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG)
- An annual event of under-17 and under-21 players.
- 1,000 scholarship-awarded athletes annually.
- In the 2025 Bihar edition, 28 sports with native events were included.
Khelo India University Games (KIUG)
- Works with college-level sportsmen.
- RS25 Rajasthan edition with 6,000+ Participants, 25 Sports.
Khelo India Winter Games
- Hosted in Gulmarg and Leh to encourage winter sports activities such as skiing, snowboarding, and ice hockey.
Khelo India beach games
- It was first played in Diu, 2025, and featured beach volleyball, open-water swimming, and traditional coastal games.
Benefits of the Khelo India Programme
For Athletes
- 8 years of scholarships and training, diet, and competition.
- The availability of national coaches and sports science operating support.
- Availability to exposure to national and international competitions.
On Schools & Colleges
- Investments in constructing playfields, indoor halls, and athletic tracks.
- A chance to organize district and state competitions.
- Connecting with the sports activities of CBSE and the Fit India Mission.
For Communities
- Public sporting facilities that can be used by the locals.
- Healthy lifestyle via sports promotion.
- Economic improvement of the sports tourism industry when it hosts events.
How Gallant Sports Helps Align with Khelo India
Khelo India will offer structure and investment, but quality infrastructure will hold the secret to long-term accomplishment.
Gallant Sports is collaborating with schools, colleges and sports academies in order to develop:
- FIFA-approved football turf.
- Artificial hockey fields approved by FIH.
- Artificial sports tracks of IAAF quality.
- Multi-function indoor sports halls (basketball, badminton, and volleyball).
Why This Is Important to You
When you are a principal, sports coordinator, or a community planner, you can-
- Be a source of finance.
- Assist your athletes in participating in national competitions.
- Improve the equipment to national good standards.
School/ Institutional Action Plan
- Apply on the Khelo India web portal- 1.
- Embed physical fitness tests through the Fit India School Programme.
- Work with infrastructure professionals, to ensure your sports facilities meet Khelo India requirements. Consult with experts from the planning stage through construction.
- Plan and organize annual sports competitions at your institution. Create a calendar, identify talent, and support their development through training and exposure.
Gallant Sports provides the solution to achieving your goals of hosting a district-level event or establishing a world-class turf, and staying close to the mission of Khelo India.
Speedy Reference Table
| Feature | Details |
| Launch Year | 2017–18 |
| Key Focus | Mass participation + sporting excellence |
| Scholarship | ₹5 lakh/year for 8 years |
| Key Events | Youth Games, University Games, Beach Games, Winter Games |
| Infrastructure Support | Playfields, indoor halls, synthetic tracks, multipurpose grounds |
| Special Feature | Indigenous games promotion |
| Partnerships | Fit India Movement, CBSE, SAI |
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