KHELEGA IND IA KHILEGA INDIA

The image of a country is not just about economic

and military strength. The soft face of a country also
makes a difference. Sports is one such soft power
which can capture the world’s attention to India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

 01. Sport: a strong soft power

02. In search of dynamic, evolving sports policies

04. Reforms that transform

06. Fundamental principles of reforms and achievements

Table of
08. Khelo India scheme creates a sports culture in India

09. India speaks

CONTENTS
11. Sports for women: shakti se sashaktikaran

12. Sports for divyang athletes: harnessing special abilities

13. Sports for peace and development: sports unites all

15. Indigenous games: promoting a glorious legacy

17. Impact of Khelo India

19. Nurturing sporting excellence

21. Fit India movement: improving India’s global fitness index

23. Impact going forward

24. India speaks

 In search of dynamic,
evolving sports policies
India is one of the most populous countries in the world, with a demographic population that lends
itself to a diverse gene pool that has the ability to excel in sports. However, a field as dynamic as
sport needed fine tuning of policies to match the dreams and needs of athletes. For decades, the
policies, albeit well-intentioned, were intermittent and could not quite catch up with the rapidly
evolving international sports ecosystem which may have hindered Indian athletes from reaching
the pinnacle of excellence at the world stage.

Action from a Swimming event at the Khelo India Youth Games in Guwahati.
Badminton star PV Sindhu holds the Indian flag aloft after
winning the silver at the Rio 2016 Olympics

Sport: A strong
soft power
The power of sport to transform a nation is huge. It has the ability to develop individual
personalities of citizens on the one hand and put the nation on the global map as a
sporting superpower on the other. There is huge national pride attached to success in
sports and it has the ability to cohesively bind the country beyond caste, creed, religion
and build a happier and healthier society. India's demographic advantage also holds the
promise of a large pool of sporting talent who can be nurtured to represent India at the
world stage.

Action from the Table Tennis competiton at the Khelo India University Games in Odisha.

KHELEGA INDIA KHILEGA INDIA 1 2

 Reforms that transform
A need was therefore felt to completely revamp the existing sports ecosystem in the
country, with focus on grassroot-level talent identification, infrastructure building, support
to elite athletes and creating an overall sports culture that would provide equal
opportunities to women, divyangs and youth from far flung areas. The result was the
introduction of the following schemes.

Khelo India Scheme: Turning a new leaf in grassroot

sport; journey of Khelo India; how it came into being
The Khelo India Scheme was formulated by Centre and the States. The National Games,
merging the existing, now erstwhile, schemes the biggest event for grassroot-level talent
of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan (RGKA), Urban identification were held at long intervals,
Sports Infrastructure Scheme (USIS) and leaving aspiring athletes to look for avenues to
National Sports Talent Search Scheme showcase their talent. The launch of the Khelo
(NSTSS). At their inception, RGKA envisaged India Scheme 2016, corrected these anomalies.
creation of sports complex in all blocks across Taking from the experience gained in
the country and conduct competitions, USIS implementing the Scheme during the year
was the pre-cursor to the infrastructure 2016-17 and on the basis of consultations with
component of the Khelo India Scheme, the major stakeholders, especially the State
NSTSS envisaged searching and nurturing of Governments and of inputs received from
sporting talent. However the schemes could them, the Khelo India Scheme was revamped
not take off largely owning to the lack of with 12 verticals in 2017. In 2022, the scheme
co-ordination and a combined vision of the has been strengthened further with 5 focused
verticles.
Young athletes sweating it out during a track and field competition.
Annual Sports
Competition

Policies to harness Promotion of Rural

Promotion of Rural
Talent Search
and Development

true potential
Tribal games

Support to National/
Sports for Peace
Regional/State
and Development
Sports Academies
The policies launched from the time of Independence created a handful of athletes who
displayed sparks of brilliance. Through the 1950s till the turn of the millennium and for a
decade after that, Indian sports icons who earned international recognition, were limited Promotion of Sports State Level
to names like Major Dhyanchand, Milkha Singh, PT Usha, among others. The lack of a among Persons Khelo India
focussed culture to strengthen a sports culture in the country, and nurture a wide base with Disabilities Centres (SLKIC)
of talent reflected in our podium finish results in major International Sports Events in the
past years. Even for elite athletes, focussed attention was limited, with many having to
reach the highest level of sporting excellence with limited avenues of support from the
prevalent Sports eco-system in the country. Sports infrastructure, the backbone of a Sports for Physical Fitness of
sporting nation, primarily came up only in bigger cities and the urban areas, with large Women School going Children
parts of the country, especially the far flung rural areas, deprived of basic infrastructure.
It is however to be realized that potential avenues of sporting talents primarily lie in the
nooks and corners of the country. Utilisation and Creation/
Upgradation of
Sports Infrastructure Play field
development

Community Coaching
Development

KHELEGA INDIA KHILEGA INDIA 3 4

 TOPS: Sustained support to sporting excellence;
journey of the reform
Fundamental principles of
The Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) was formed in April 2016 to provide impetus to
Indian athletes competing in the Olympics. It was realized that the MOC could be
reforms and achievements
made more effective by further fine tunings such as increasing the involvement of
National Sporting Federations, involving experts of various sporting disciplines,
including sports science, and the appreciating and consideration of sports-specific Khelo India Scheme
nuances, while extending support to athletes. Therefore, to promote Sporting
Excellence among elite athletes, the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), which The Scheme’s primary focus is to create a
was initially formulated in 2014, was revamped completely to address the further national-level platform for athletes to showcase 360 degree
requirements of the MOC. Consequently, professional teams, including research their talent and to identify them for further
analysts, athlete relationship managers, sports science and sports-specific experts grooming and financial support. The Khelo India
support provided,
were brought on board to create a focussed support system for elite athletes. Games has been a harbinger of this effort. From a funding of 6.28
2017 to 2020, 3 editions of Khelo India School and lakh per annum
Youth Games and 1 edition of the Khelo India
Personalised coaching support Personalised equipment University Games have been hosted, giving per athlete to
from best global coaches support talented young sportspersons a chance to win 2,275 Khelo India
their way to a Khelo India Scholarship and be
trained for higher levels of competition by the Athletes (KIAs)
best coaches and in state-of-art sporting which includes
complexes. The Games have seen a participation
of over 18,000 athletes, with close to 3,000 10,000 per
athletes identified as Khelo India Athletes (KIAs) month out of
who are currently training at Khelo India
Academies, revamped SAI Centers and are given pocket allowance
Out of Pocket International
an Out of Pocket Allowance of ₹10,000 per for each KIA
month, besides being supported for training,
Allowance training
equipment, diet and education.
per month sessions

To provide a higher per capita sporting

Dedicated relationship
Sports science
infrastructure across the country
manager as bridge
support 266 Academies have been accredited for training of Khelo India
between SAI and athlete
Athletes (KIAs) in 21 sports disciplines. Besides, support has been
extended to 500 private academies under Khelo India Scheme in
collaboration with National Sports Federations, so that athletes have
Top-of-line research support access to sporting infrastructure all over the country and can train at
to track opponent performance. a center most convenient to them.
Fencer Bhavani Devi

FIT India Movement: Improving India's fitness quotient

It was the vision of the Hon’ble Prime Minister to Education, Panchayati Raj, Health, Ayush,
enunciate path breaking measures to put India among others. The deliberations led to the 2010-2014 – 38
on a FIT Track on a Fast Track and thus began a creation of the framework for the Movement Sports
people’s movement, with the effort to promote with focus on improving the fitness quotient
the concept of: Fitness is Fun, Fitness is Easy, of citizens through planned fitness activities. infrastructure
Fitness is Free. The FIT India Movement is the
first-of-its-kind Reform in the History of India.
The deliberations took over a year before the
Movement was formally launched by
projects
Interactions with experts from the field of
fitness, corporate companies engaged in
Hon’able PM in August, 2019.
2014-2020 – 267
promoting fitness and various Ministries such as

KHELEGA INDIA KHILEGA INDIA 1

5 2
6
 Khelo India Scheme creates
Furthering collaboration with State Governments:
Sports being a State subject, the interest of a State to further its sporting ambitions is important. In
a sports culture in India
a first-of-its-kind initiative made in 2020, the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports partnered with the
States to create world-class sporting infrastructure which are being called Khelo India State Center
of Excellence (KISCE). These State-owned sports complexes have been given financial support by To assess the fitness levels of school going
the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and each centre specializes in imparting training in one or two
sporting disciplines, thus making them elite centers. Besides this, 1000 Khelo India Centers (KIC) children to identify future champions
are being setup at the district level to strengthen grassroot-level sports infrastructure in States and
to provide a source of income for local sporting talent by engaging them as coaches in KICs. Identifying sporting talent at a young age is advantageous since children best suited for a particular
sport can be trained from an early age. To this end more than 23 lakh school going children in the
age group of 5-18 years have been assessed using
the Khelo India Mobile App. More than 82,000
physical education teachers have been trained to
assess the sporting prowess of children. Physical Fitness of
23 lakh school children
4688 Trainees 33 Schools assessed to find
have been covered in 68 Sports Authority of have been adopted under State level Khelo
future champions
India Training Centres (STCs) under SLKIC India Centers (SLKIC)

29 KISCE's 685 KICs To ensure maximum utilisation and

have been approved in districts across India
access to playfields:
Access to playfields in crucial for young Indians to develop a love for
sports and therefore build a sporting culture in India. A national
inventory of playfields and sports infrastructure has therefore been
prepared on a Geographic Information System (GIS) and more than
11,227 playfields have already been geo-tagged so that citizens can
ARUNACHAL PRADESH have easy access to them, and the number is growing with each
Sangey Lhaden Sports Academy passing week, as more playfields find mention in the GIS.

NAGALAND
States Sports Academy
IG Stadium
13,682 playfields geo-tagged to provide
MANIPUR access to sporting facilities at grassroot
Khuman Lampak
Sporta Complex

KARNATAKA
MIZORAM
Sh. Jaiprakash Narayan
National Youth Centre
Rajiv Gandhi Stadium To create a strong network of community coaches:
ODISHA Creating a proper pool of skilled coaches at the grassroot level is the most important aspect of
Kalinga Stadium identifying the right talent. Therefore efforts have been made to upgrade the skill set of physical
education teachers and train them into
KERALA community coaches in accordance with
GV Raja Sr. Sec. TELANGANA 15,000 PE teachers international best practices. More than 15,000 PE
Sports School Regional Sports School trained as community teachers have been trained as community
coaches to identify coaches under the Khelo India Scheme.
young talent

KHELEGA INDIA KHILEGA INDIA 7 8

 Sports for divyang athletes:
Harnessing special abilities

Indian para-athletes have been doing

consistently well at international
competitions. In the Asian Para
Games in 2018 the Indian contingent
won 72 medals, 39 medals higher
than in 2014. This has been possible
by creating specialised sports
infrastructure for athletes with
disabilities. The SAI National Centre
A track & field athlete during the Khelo India Youth Games in Guwahati of Excellence in Gandhinagar is a
dedicated centre for para athletes.

Sports for Women:

Besides, support to para athletes
through the TOPS Scheme has seen a
significant rise, from 09 athletes in Deepa Malik
2015 to 32 athletes in 2021.

Shakti se sashaktikaran Besides on-ground support to para

athletes through various schemes,
financial assistance of ₹6 crore was
India’s women athletes have been making a mark at the international sports forum consistently in also extended to Special Olympics
the last few years. Badminton ace PV Sindhu winning the World Championship in 2019, Legendary Bharat, All India Sports Council of
Boxer MC Mary Kom bagging the World Championship title for the sixth time in 2018, are shining Deaf and Paralympic Committee of
examples of the success of our women athletes. The support to women athletes at the grassroot and India for the year 2019-20, to
elite level takes on heightened importance given that 50 per cent of India’s population is women. support District and State Games for
The participation of women athletes in major international competitions has risen steadily, Divyang athletes.
compared to a decade before, owing to a plethora of schemes that have been introduced to provide
focussed attention to the woman athlete.
In a breakthrough decision to create
an equal platform for para athletes,
Specialised Women’s Only Leagues in Football, Basketball and Hockey have been introduced to an additional fund of ₹19.75 lakhs to
provide a level playing field for women. At the grassroots level, women athletes identified through conduct Indian Open Para Athletics
the Khelo India Scheme has seen a steady rise. The number of elite women athletes supported Championship, 2018 was sanctioned.
through the Target Olympic Podium Scheme has seen a significant rise too. Financial impetus to Devendra Jhajharia
support having international competitions for women in India has seen the hosting of the World
Boxing Championship in New Delhi in 2018, with a grant of ₹3 crore, from Khelo India.
If we talk about athlete centricity,
every athlete who’s qualified/
probable for Tokyo is under SAI’s
Financial impetus to trademark TOPS financial assistance
Exclusive sports Support to elite
program. PCI has 50 athletes who
leagues for women at women athletes has host international
are under this scheme and we have
the grassroot-level risen from 48 in 2015 competitions for equal representation as able bodied
to over 140 in 2022 women athletes.

- Deepa Malik
President,
Paralympic Committee of India
KHELEGA INDIA KHILEGA INDIA 9 10
 Sports for peace
and development: Sports has the ability to channelize
the energy of youth in a productive

Sports unites all

manner. The reform principle has thus
been to organise village-level
competitions in respect of sports
disciplines popular in the State of
Jammu & Kashmir and Left Wing
Extremism (LWE) affected States. In

95 DISTRICTS
Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, two
editions of the Khelo India Winter
Games have been conducted in March
2020, 2021. Athletes from all across 95 DISTRICTS
India participated in the Games,
creating an atmosphere of open
exchange of sports and culture. A
special package of ₹200 crore to build Action from a handball game from the Khelo India Games
sporting infrastructure in Jammu &
Kashmir, along with the sanction of

14 14
₹10 lakh per block to host sports
competitions, have been some
first-time initiatives. A Khelo India
State Water Sports Academy was also

STATES
inaugurated in Srinagar in March 2021
to make Jammu & Kashmir the hub of

STATES
winter and water sports. A Khelo India
Winter Games has also been
conducted in Ladakh in February
2020. With an effort to support the
youth living in LWE affected States,
95 districts in 14 States have been
sanctioned ₹10 lakh each to host
sports competition and identify
sporting talent.
A training routine from the Jammu and Kashmir valley

10
₹₹10 LAKH
LAKH
Girls’ football action from the Khelo India Youth Games Action from a girls’ archery event

KHELEGA INDIA KHILEGA INDIA 11 12

 Indigenous
games:
Promoting a
glorious
legacy
The Indigenous games of India are an inherent part of its
culture and heritage panning several centuries.
Preserving these games and popularising it among
India’s youth as well as internationally therefore finds
immediate merit. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and
Sports has taken consistent steps to ensure that these
games find a place of pride and have hosted 36
exclusive Indigenous Games championships across 19
venues of India under the Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat
Scheme in 2019-20. Besides, four popular sports, namely
Mallakhamb from Maharashtra, Kalaripayyattu from
Kerala, Gatka from Punjab and Thang-Ta from Manipur
have been identified for special support and have been
included in the Khelo India Youth Games 2021, to give
the sportspersons of indigenous games a national
platform. Financial support in the form of a monthly
scholarship of ₹10,000 was given to 335 deserving
athletes. The feather in the cap however, would be the
recognition of Yogasana as a sport and the formation of

10,000
₹₹10,000
the National Yogasana Sports Federation, which was
achieved after a deliberation of over 5 years. Yogasana,
India’s gift to the World has now found its rightful place
in India’s sports ecosystem.

335
335 ATHLETES
ATHLETES
Action from a Kabaddi event at the Khelo India Games

KHELEGA INDIA KHILEGA INDIA 13 14

 Impact of
Khelo India S.No. Category Before After

7 Partnership with States Association with States Continuous hand holding to build a robust sports
restricted to funding for ecosystem in the States. This includes capacity
S.No. Category Before After sports projects building of sports infrastructure, support with
resources such as expert coaches, training
1 Integrated mechanism Schemes were sporadic in A comprehensive mechanism created through equipment, sports science support. Bright
to promote sporting nature and did not cater to Khelo India to build a sporting culture by examples include the Khelo India Centre of
culture and excellence the ecosystem as a whole identifying and developing talent by providing Excellence being built through State and Centre
in sports annual competitive platforms, infrastructure across participation. The Khelo India Games are also
the country. organised hand in hand with States

8 Employment avenues No planned career building 1000 proposed Khelo India Centres to be set up in
2 Platform for Games were held only at Through the annual Khelo India Youth Games for sportspersons opportunities, especially district level to employ ex sportspersons and
showcasing talent the panchayat level. There and University Games, athletes of age groups of post their sporting career coaches, while creating grassroot level talent pool
were no national level U17 and U21 have got a chance to showcase their of athletes.
competitions. sporting talent annually, at the national level.
18,000 sportspersons have already participated 9 Support to private No structured support to 500 private academies in various sports
in two editions of KIYG and one edition of KIUG players the private institutions of disciplines being funded by the Sports Ministry to
since 2018. sports. ensure eligible entities contributing to the sports
ecosystem are amply supported.

3 Talent identification No structured mechanism Talent identified annually through Khelo India 10 Use of digital medium No such endeavours were The Khelo India MobileApp launched by Hon’ble
and development to identify or groom Games. 2,893 athletes already identified since to transform sport made. PM in 2019 has assessed the fitness parameters of
talent from grassroot to 2016. more than 23 lakh school children, thus identifying
excellence. future sporting talent from the age of 5 years.
National Centre of Excellence developed across
the country to train elite athletes.
Talent developed through 258 SAI and non-SAI
accredited Khelo India academies.
Athletes trained in specific sport in 29 Khelo India
State Centre of Excellence.

4 Promotion of No mechanism to promote Special scheme to promote indigenous games 3000

indigenous games indigenous games and athletes. Athletes of indigenous games are
given Out-of-Pocket Allowance (OPA), training
facilities in top-end centres. 2500
100

2000
5 Sports for No specific scheme for Specific schemes put in place to empower women
80
inclusiveness women, divyang or to make a mark in sports as well as strengthened
athletes hailing from Left support to divyangs in the form of financial grants, 1500
Wing Extremism affected better training facilities. Prize money for divyangs
60
(LWE) areas. brought at par with able bodied athletes. Sporting 2,893 Khelo India
infrastructure set up and competitions organised 66.04 Khelo India 1000
in areas like Jammu and Kashmir, Leh and Ladakh 40
and several Left Wing Extremism affected areas of
500
the country.
20
24.31 TOPS 0
0
0
Before 2014 From 2014-2022
0
Sports infrastructure Sports infrastructure was 267 infrastructure projects sanctioned in SAI, State Before 2014 From 2014-2020
6
availability restricted to larger cities Governments and other eligible entities, including
and towns, with aspiring Khelo India Centre of Excellence in States and Number of Identified Athletes
athletes from Tier 2 and 3 Khelo India Centres in districts to ensure athletes Sports scholarship distributed
cities not getting easy have access to infrastructure.
access to sporting to Identified Athletes (₹ in crore)
infrastructure.

KHELEGA INDIA KHILEGA INDIA 15 16

 Personalised support to Olympic-bound athletes

Nurturing sporting
through TOPS:

excellence
The Target Olympic Podium Scheme has (97 in Core and 181 in Development) are
created a seamless experience for elite supported under the scheme and the impact
athletes vis-à-vis funding support, specialized of TOPS support has been amply displayed
equipment support, foreign exposures and with athletes bringing in the best-ever medal
access to the best coaches in the world, along tally for India in Commonwealth Games
The natural progression of grassroot-level talent identification and nurturing is with an Out of Pocket Allowance of ₹50,000 (CWG) - 2018 (in foreign soil), the Asian
support to athletes who make it to the elite level. With an effort to give per athlete, per month in the Core Group and Games (AG), Asian Para Games and Youth
personalised support to elite athletes and to provide best-in-class training, ₹25,000 per athlete, per month in the Olympics in 2018. This was followed by India’s
coaching, equipment and sports science support to India’s elite athletes, the Developmental Group. Currently 278 athletes best ever medal tally in Olympic and
following reforms have been put in place: Paralympic Games at Tokyo in 2020.

Creation of National Centres of Excellence (NCOE):

101
100

Commonwealth
80 Games (CWG)
The Sports Authority has upgraded 23 of it’s 64
66
centres to NCOEs across the country to train elite 61
60 Gold
and development level athletes in Olympic sports.
The NCOEs are established on the five pillars of
players, coaches, sports science, equipment and 38
36
Silver
40
infrastructure. World-class facilities have been 27 30
26
provided in every NCOE with an enhanced budget 20 20 22 23 Bronze
19
to provide specialised training. 20 15 16
Total
Boxer Lovlina Borgohain 0
₹ 2010 2014 2018 2022

70
80

70
65

Asian 60 57
Games (AG) 53

50

Gold 40
36
34
36
Silver 31
30
26
23
Bronze
20 17 17
14 16
Total
10 11
10
10

Young shooters line up during a competition 0

2006 2010 2014 2018

KHELEGA INDIA KHILEGA INDIA 17 18

 Fit India Movement: The Reform, launched for the first time as a People's Movement on August 29, 2019, is a result of the
vision of Hon'ble Prime Minister. It was his clarion call to make India a Fit Nation that was the

Improving India’s
starting point of this Movement. A fit nation has fit citizens, who can make a greater contribution in
the development. Since its launch, crores of Indians have participated in a range of fitness activities
across the country. Even during the pandemic, virtual fitness sessions organised under this

global fitness index

movement guided citizens on how to stay mentally and physically fit. The Movement engages
citizens from all walks of life right from school children, working professionals, youth, housewives to
senior citizens. Here's a look at all the events that citizens have taken up under the Movement:

FIT INDIA School Week

FIT INDIA PLOG RUN
Fitness as a way of life should start at a young age. With this in
On 2nd October 2019-the 150th Birth mind, the Fit India School Week was launched in 2019 with an effort
Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Fit to inculcate fitness habits among school children, while creating an
India Plog Run was organized which awareness among parents and teachers. Over 4.3 lakh schools
saw a participation of over 30 lakh have participated in the 2nd edition from December 2020 to
people across the country. January 2021 of the Fit India School Week, which was organised
virtually. The 3rd edition of the Fit India School Week organized
from 14th November 2021 to 31st January 2022 saw a participation
FIT INDIA CYCLOTHON of more than 4.5 lakh schools. The 4th addition is now on going
India’s plogman Ripu Daman poses during the Plog Run event
The first edition of the event took place
in January 2020 and saw more than 15
lakh participation. The second edition FIT INDIA School Certification
took place between December 2020 to Fit India Flag, 3-Star and 5-Star Fit India School certificates have
January 2021 and saw a participation of been given to schools across the country, based on physical
1.2 crore people. activities organised for children and sporting infrastructure
available in schools. So far, a total of 4.52 lakh schools have been
FIT INDIA PRABHATPHERI awarded with the FIT INDIA Flag, whereas over 43,328 and 13,057
schools have registered for Fit India 3 Star and 5 Star School
FIT INDIA Prabhatpheri was organized Certification respectively.
in December 2020 and saw a huge
participation with more than 55,000
community walks organized to create
awareness on fitness. FIT INDIA Dialogue
Young people taking part in the Fit India Prabhatpheri On the 1st anniversary of the Fit India Movement, a first of its
kind-"Fit India Dialogue" was hosted in September 2020 by the
FIT INDIA Freedom Run Hon'ble Prime Minister. In this unique event the Hon'ble Prime
The Inaugural edition of the Fit India Minister interacted with notable top fitness influencers of the
Freedom Run was organized to country, emphasizing the imperative need of fitness and gave the
celebrate our 74th Independence Day clarion call to Indians to spend 30 minutes daily on their Fitness, -
from 14th August till 2nd October 2020 “Fitness Ki Dose Aadha Ghanta Roz”. The Fit India Dialogue has
(151st birth anniversary of Mahatma become the centrepiece for conversations about fitness.
Gandhi). This virtual run, where people
In the 2nd edition, Hon’ble Minister of State (I/C), YA&S, Shri. Kiren
could run at a place and pace of their
Rijiju interacted with celebrities and sports icons like Flying Sikh
choice, witnessed over 7 crore people
Late Sh. Milkha Singh, Sh. Anil Kapoor, Dronacharya Awardee Sh.
participating. The second edition was
Pullela Gopichand, Captain of Indian Women’s Cricket team, Ms.
organized as part of Azadi Ka Amrit
Mithali Raj and Ex-captain of Indian Football team, Sh. Bhaichung
Mahotsav from 13th August to 2nd
Bhutia and it was telecast on 27th December 2020 on Zee News.
October 2021 and saw a mass
participation of over 9 crore people. Fit
India Freedom Run 3.0 saw People of all ages took part in the Fit India Freedom Run Moment from a Pole Vault event
partipitation of over 35 crore people.
KHELEGA INDIA KHILEGA INDIA 19 20
 Fit India Mobile Application
To commemorate the 2nd anniversary of Fit India, the Fit India Mobile Application was launched
on 29th August 2021.
The Fit India Mobile App is a one of its kind App wherein citizens can assess their fitness
parameters through a series of simple tests and further get tips to improve their fitness on
regular basis. Additionally, Fit India Mobile App has features like setting daily activity and fitness
goals, activity tracker, water intake, calorie intake and sleep tracker etc. It is an extension of Fit
India Age- appropriate fitness protocols launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister on the 1st
Anniversary of Fit India Movement.
The Application is free of cost and is available both on Android and IOS.

Meet The Champions

A program envisioned by our Hon’ble PM, Sh. Narendra Modi to help school kids understand the
importance of a balanced diet, proper nutrition and to encourage them to participate in sports
activities. To accomplish
this, Tokyo 2020 Olympians and Paralympians will visit 75 schools until 15 August 2023 to help
nurture the next generation of India and contribute towards making India a Healthy and Fit India.

S.No. Athlete City State/UT

1 Neeraj Chopra Ahmedabad Gujarat

2 Bajrang Punia Panipat Haryana

3 Varun Thakkar & K.C. Ganapathy Ramanathanpuram TN

4 Sharad Kumar Thiruvanthapuram Kerala

5 Shri Hari Natraj Bangalore Kar

6 Mariyappan Thangavelu Salem TN

7 Devender Jhajaria Churu Raj

8 Yogesh Kathuniya Patna Bihar

9 Mirabai Chanu & Rani Dharmasala HP

10 Maana Patel Goa Goa

Fit India Quiz
11 Manoj Sarkar Haldwani UK
Fit India Quiz, India’s biggest quiz on sports and fitness for school going children with a prize
money of Rs. 3.25 crores, was launched on 1st September 2021 as part of Aazadi Ka Amrit
Mahotsav. Fit India Quiz, while providing a national platform to students to showcase their 12 Bhawani Devi Chennai TN
knowledge about fitness and sports, also endeavours to create awareness among students
about India’s rich sporting history. 13 Avani Lakhera Delhi Delhi

It saw participation from 36,299 students from 13,502 schools. The preliminary round and state
14 Lalremsiami Hmar Zote Mizoram Aizawl
finals were completed and 36 teams, one from each State/UT selected to compete for title in the
National Round. In the National Round, Delhi Public School, Ranchi emerged as the National
Champion for the 1st addition of The Fit India Quiz. 15 Praveen Kumar Jewar UP

16 Mohammad Arif Khan Srinagar J&K

KHELEGA INDIA KHILEGA INDIA 21 22

S.No. Athlete City State/UT
A systematic and consolidated policy
16 Singhraj Adhana Jammu - Ramnagar J&K Sports intervention in the form of Khelo India
17 Sarthak Bhambri Chandigarh Punjab for All: that ensures availability of sports facility
to every part of the country
18 Sumit Antil Panchkula Punjab

19 Harvinder Singh Amritsar Punjab

20 Prachi Yadav Sehore MP MP

21 Rahi Sarnobat Kolhapur Mah

22 Deepika Kumari & Atanu Das Ranchi Chh

Excellence in Sports
23 Tarundeep Rai Sikkim Sikkim
as National Pride:
24 Elavenil Valarivan Cuddalore, Tamilnadu TN
Providing a holistic environment
25 Manpreet Singh Jalandhar Punjab Unearthing with world class facilities to
26 Shushila Devi Imphal Manipur Champions: resulting in Indian athletes getting Sports
27 Sreeshankar Murali Trivendrum Kerala
podium finish, establishing India as from Extra
Sustained a sporting powerhouse on the
28 Nikhat Zareen Hyderabad Telagana
support to global map.
Curricular
29 Bhavina Patel Gandhinagar Guj proficient to Regular
30 Tulika Maan Gurgaon Haryana
athletes from Curriculum:
grassroot to
31 Manpreet Kaur Amristar Punjab development to The alignment
32 Devender Gahlot Bikaner Rajasthan elite stage. of the sports
Hand-holding as an integral
33 David Beckham Delhi Delhi
through their part of the
34 Amit Rohidas Bhubneshwar Odisha sporting journey school
through seamless curriculum.
35 Kushagra Rawat Noida UP
support.
36 Ramit Tandon Kolkata WB

37 Ashish Chaudhary Shimla HP

38 Manoj Sarkar Dehradun UK

39

40
Vijay Yadav

Bavleen Kaur
Varansi

Jammu
UP

J&K
Impact going
41

42
Lovely Choubey & Rupa Rani Tirkey

Triyasha Paul
Jamshedpur

Agartala
Jharkhand

WB
forward
43 Aakarshi Kashyap Raipur Chhattisgarh

44 Rojit Singh Yanglem Shilong Meghalaya

45 Nayanmoni Saikia Guwahati Assam

46 Nitu Ghanghas Bhiwani Haryana

A distinct change in
mindset around
47 Komalika Bari Agra UP fitness owing to Fit
India Movement .
48 Jitu Rai Bhopal MP Fitness becomes
way of life for every
49 Md Hussamuddin Nizamabad Telagana Fitness Indians
50 Niranjan Mukundan Mysore Karnataka in focus:

KHELEGA INDIA KHILEGA INDIA 23 24

 India Speaks
Neeraj Chopra
It's time to put the past to rest and focus
on the future. Have arrived for my
off-season training and look forward to
restarting the process of getting better.
Srikanth Kidambi
Immensely grateful to DG sir, @Media_SAI,
Thank you the TOPS and @afiindia teams and
@Media_SAI everyone involved in making this happen
@DGSAI and TOPS
for your continuous
support even during
my tough period.
Will keep working
hard to give my best
for the country

Avani Lekhara
The action of all stakeholders of
Indian Sports gives me belief &
assurance of mainstreaming of
Para-sports in our country.I would
like to thank the Govt, Ministry of
Sports, Paralympic India, Hon
Ministers & all involved

25 26
KHELEGA INDIA KHILEGA INDIA
MINISTRY OF YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA