Category: Govt. Policies

Behind the big sporting success of any country, be it the USA or China, there’s a robust grassroots system. This is the structure on which the whole sports system depends for continued success. In this grassroot set-up, talent doesn’t go unnoticed, and there are enough opportunities for aspiring athletes to showcase their skills. India lags behind in terms of creating opportunities for young athletes, especially in 2nd-tier cities and remote villages. Because of the lack of a streamlined structure, we lose a lot of talent to obscurity. We can’t even imagine the immense talent India has, and yet, there’s no proper system to unearth it.

However, in 2018, the government of India took a step to overhaul the grassroot set-up. This initiative was called Khelo India program. It’s main objective to help sportspersons in every way possible, whether you are a young athlete looking to start your sports journey, or someone looking to become a coach. Through this program, the Indian government wants to foster a sporting culture, like Europe, where it’s seen as a solid career option. So, let’s try to understand Khelo India, which is empowering young athletes in India.

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Khelo India Program

As highlighted above, Khelo India is India’s flagship sports program that promotes sports at the grassroots level and aims to create robust sports ecosystem in the country. In total, there are 1059 Khelo India Centres (KICs) set up in 36 states and union territories across a total of 747 districts. These centres act as a platform to identify local talent and nurture it so that no possible champion goes unnoticed due to geographical location or economic background.

In addition, the Khelo India program has set up 32 Khelo India State Centres of Excellence (KISCEs) across 31 States and Union Territories. These world-class facilities offer curated training to athletes across all sports, helping them unlock their full potential.

Main Objectives of Khelo India Program

Khelo India’s objective is to unearth talent and give them a platform to become world-class athletes. Let’s explore more:

• Unearth talent and nurture them: Through various schemes and initiatives, Khelo India program helps in identifying talented athletes across the country, especially from rural areas, and give them access to resources and opportunities.
• Infrastructure Development: Another objective of Khelo India program is to construct and upgrade sports facilities, including stadiums, training centers, and sports academies to create a professional environment for regional and national-level athletes.
• Sports Education: Through Khelo India, the government is also trying to integrate sports in the school curriculum. This way, new opportunities will be opening up for students away from the field, such as sports journalism, sports management and more.
• Fitness Awareness: Khelo India is also promoting a fitness related program named Fit India Movement, which encourages people, of every age, to indulge in activities such as Running.
• Promoting Grassroots Participation: Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) and Khelo India University Games (KIUG) are part of the grassroot program aimed at the young budding athletes to showcase their talent.

Positive Impact of Khelo India on India’s Sports Success

Khelo India is still new to have a larger impact like the sports system in the USA, China, or Australia. But in only six years, this program has helped many athletes, with some of them going on to represent India at the global stage.

• Olympics 2024: Out of India’s 117 contingent, 28 athletes were from the Khelo India program, which signifies the success of this sports initiative.
• 2022 Asian Games: At the 2022 Asian Games in China, 124 out of 644 Indian athletes were from Khelo India Program. These athletes helped India win 42 medals at the event, which again highlights the program’s ongoing success.
• Identifying Talent: Around 2781 athletes have been identified under the Khelo India Scheme.These athletes are also given support through coaching, equipment, medical care, and a monthly Out of Pocket Allowance (OPA).
• Paralympics: In addition, out of 84 para-athletes who represented India at the Para Olympic 2024, 25 athletes came from Khelo India Scheme. It was India’s most successful paralympic campaaign as Indian athletes secured a record-breaking 29 medals—7 gold, 9 silver, and 13 bronze. This was possible only due to Khelo India initiative.

More Opportunities for Athletes

Since its inception in 2018, the government of India has invested around ₹3616 in the program, which shows the government’s commitment to make this program a success.

• Since 2018, there have been 15 Khelo India Games, which means, more opportunities for young athletes to rub shoulders against each other.
• Out of these 15 games, 6 were Khelo India Youth Games, 4 were Khelo India University Games, 4 were Khelo India Winter Games, and 1 was Khelo India Para Games.
• Over 1000 talented athletes have been identified from these competitions.
• Khelo India has also set up a total of 302 Accredited Academies, over 1000 Khelo India Centres, and 32 Khelo India State Centers of Excellence.

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Significant Opportunities for young athletes

• Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG): A multi-disciplinary sports event for athletes under 17 years and for those below 21 years.
• Khelo India University Games (KIUG): Gamed for athletes studying in universities.
• Khelo India Fitness Assessment Program: To assess and strategize improvement on the fitness grounds of school-going children.

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Financial Support Through Khelo India

Not only Khelo India program is creating opportunities for aspiring athletes at the various level, but athletes are also getting financial help from this scheme.

As per a report on Khelo India’s official website, talented players identified in various sports disciplines at will be getting annual financial assistance of INR 5 lakh per annum for 8 years. That’s massive. truly.

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Conclusion

The Khelo India program is the evidence of India’s attempt to emerge as a global sports powerhouse. Such initiatives empower youth and establish a sporting culture across the nation. Also, the program is helping athletes with finances, which is the biggest driving factor for every human. If the program can penetrate into 2nd tier cities and villages, then the impact could be unfathomable, as there’s no dearth of talent in the country.

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For every successful athlete, there’s a coach who transformed his career, and made him a champion. In a robust sports ecosystem, quality coaching is as important as unearthing talent. From decision-making to the thought process, coaches directly influence the players in more aspects than one can imagine. Cricket has become a cultural identity for India because we are successful in this sport.

If Tendulkar is retiring, then there’s a Kohli, and now Jaiswal and Gill look ready to take over the reins. And this is down to quality of coaching which keeps producing talent. Other sports needs to do some catching up in making the system more streamlined for coaches and athletes.

Thankfully, the Government of India has put emphasis upon building a stronger coaching infrastructure through various initiatives through the National Coaching Scheme (NCS). The NCS is operated under the aegis of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and is a proven vehicle for development and implementation of various initiatives aimed at coaching and talent development in the country.

Let’s highlights what the National Coaching Scheme is all about and how different programs can impact sports ecosystem in India.

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The National Coaching Scheme

Started in the 1980s, the National Coaching Scheme is a flagship program to recruit, train, and deploy qualified coaches across India. The program is administered through Sports Authority of India and provides a structured way of professional development for coaches.

Its primary objective is to contribute to developing a world-class sporting ecosystem at the grassroots, through talent identification and athlete preparation for global competitions. Coaches through NCS are deployed in various sports programs at the grassroot level and directly influence India’s talent pool.

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How National Coaching Scheme Affect India’s Sports Ecosystem

1. Khelo India Program

India’s flagship sports program at the grassroot level. Khelo India was launched in 2018 to to develop and nurture sports talent.

The trained coaches under the NCS work in the Khelo India Programs. So these coaches have a direct impact on the life of an athlete. If the coach lacks in critical thinking or let’s day, isn’t updated with the modern training drills, chances are, he will be producing average athletes.

2. SAI Training Centers (STCs)

Sports Authority of India (SAI) is an apex sports body under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. It’s objective is to promote sports and achieving sporting excellence at the National and International level.

Just like Khelo India, the NCS assigns its coaches at SAI Training Centres which are spread across the country. These coaches play a critical role in mentoring and developing athletes at the international and national levels.

3. Special Area Games (SAG) Scheme

These scheme promotes sports in tribal, rural and remote areas. Coaches hired under NCS then visit SAG centres to scout, identify and nurture talent in traditional and indigenous sports. Such initiatives play a critical role in India’s sports ecosystem and it’s success depend on coaches’ ability to identify talent and mold them into world beaters.

4. National Centres of Excellence (NCOEs)

These are top-notch centers of elite training which prepares athletes for Olympic and international events. Coaches at these top-level centres are often former players but NCS does play its role in providing performance-based training using modern technology, analytics, and sports science methods to trainers.

5. Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS)

Although TOPS primarily caters to senior and elite athletes, it still has the NCS coaches playing a vital role. NCS coaches works with sports scientists, physiotherapist or nutritionist in achieving optimal performance for athletes.

6. Rural Sports Program

This is the program under which NCS cooperates with state governments to introduce sports in rural areas. Under this scheme, NCS coaches identify talents from rural and economically weaker sections and provide them a pathway in India’s sports ecosystem.

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Positive Impact of the National Coaching Scheme

Here we highlighting the impact of National Coaching Scheme on India’s sports ecosystem:

1. Improved Medal Performances: Although India performed poorly at the 2024 Olympics, India’s overall performance as a nation at the marquee international events like the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, and Asian Games has improved significantly if we compare it with the period before 2000. This is down to NCS initiative.
2. Empowering Women in Sports: Initiatives under the NCS are also focusing on empowering female athletes. Now we are seeing more and more female athletes like PV Sindhu and Mary Kom representing India at the global level.
3. Helping In Regional Development: Schemes like the SAG and Rural Sports Program are helping in identifying the talent from remote areas, as coaches are sent specifically to far corners of India for scouting purposes.
4. Modern Training Methods: With the help of modern training methods and equipment, NCS coaches are also helping aspiring athletes achieve their peak performance levels.

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Challenges Faced by National Coaching Scheme

Despite the success, the NCS faces several challenges within India’s sports ecosystem.

• Quality of Coaches: The supply of skilled coaches, especially in non-mainstream sports such as football, continues to fall short than demand.
• Uneven Resource Distribution: There’s no regulations on distributing funds equally across regions. Metro cities benefit more from NCS initiatives than the remote areas, creating imbalances in access to coaching and facilities.
• Low Pay: Money is a driving force for everybody. Coaches at the grassroot level are paid low salaries which may result in half-hearted approach towards athlete development from the coaches. A better pay can keep the coaches motivated.
• Use of Technology: While elite centers use advanced tools, grassroots-level coaching still relies on traditional methods, leaving athletes from those regions less prepared.

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Conclusion

The National Coaching Scheme is indeed a great program to improve the coaching standard in India. It helps in laying a strong foundation for sports persons looking to become a coach. But, as mentioned above, this program is not without faults. Most of India’s population reside in 2nd tier cities and villages and there’s definitely a dearth of quality coaches in those regions. Also, du to lack of a robust scouting system, a lot of talent is going unnoticed. Wheat India need is a sound coaching infrastructure, complemented by a good scouting network to make India a global sporting giant.

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