Government has decided to establish 1000 Khelo India Centers (KIC) at the district level across the country. These centers will either be run by a past champion or have them as coaches. The move is to tap into the expertise of past sporting champions for grassroot-level training of athletes and also to ensure a sustained source of income for them in the sports ecosystem.
The decision, while strengthening grassroot level sports, will also ensure that past champions can contribute in making India a sporting superpower while earning a livelihood from sports. Speaking about this decision, Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju said, as the government strives to make India a sporting superpower, one of the things we have to ensure is that sports becomes a viable career option for youngsters.
He said the Centre wants to ensure that anyone who has played sport at the national level has a life of dignity and financial stability. A shortlisting mechanism has been put in place to identify past champions who are eligible to either establish their own academy or work as a coach in a KIC. To build the country-wide network of Khelo India Centres, existing SAI extension centres will be given the option of converting into a KIC and recruiting a past champion to avail the financial grant under the scheme.
