The Indian government’s flagship project Khelo India, which aims to promote sports at the grassroots level, was once again the biggest beneficiary in the union budget for, sports ministry. Khelo India was assigned Rs 900 crore from the overall allocation of Rs 3,442.32 crore on Tuesday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2024. Khelo India’s budget is Rs 20 crore more than the revised allocation of Rs 880 crore during the previous financial year. The Sports Ministry has seen only a marginal increase of Rs 45.36 crore from the current 4-year Olympic cycle to the previous cycle.
The budget for the previous cycle was Rs 3,396.96 crore for the previous financial year. The government has made heavy investments in Khelo India over the years as the project continues to unearth talents from across India. While Khelo India’s actual allocation in 2022-23 stood at Rs 596.39 crore, it was increased by more than Rs 400 crore, to Rs 1,000 crores, in the 2023-24 budget, before being revised to Rs 880 crore.
Khelo India benefits from Union Budget 2024
Ever since the inaugural Khelo India Youth Games in 2018, the government has continued to add more programmes. The sports ministry added Khelo India University Games in 2020, before also launching the Khelo India Winter Games the same year and the Khelo India Para Games in 2023.
Hundreds of Khelo India State Centres of Excellence have been set up across the country, which aim to provide facilities for athletes with potential. Several Khelo India athletes are currently in India’s Olympic-bound contingent. The government’s assistance to National Sports Federations has also seen an increase of Rs 15 crore from Rs 325 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 340 crore in the latest budget.
Budget’s impact on sports industry
The budget for the Sports Authority of India, which apart from maintaining its stadiums across the country also manages the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) to prepare athletes for the global sporting extravaganzas, has also been enhanced from Rs 795.77 crore to Rs 822.60 crore, which is a jump of Rs 26.83 crore.
The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) and the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL), which does all the testing, have received marginal increase in their budgets. While NADA’s budget has gone up from Rs 21.73 crore last year to Rs 22.30 crore, NDTL has got Rs 22 crore, up from Rs 19.50 last year.