• Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur to virtually interact with state sports ministers today

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    Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur to virtually interact with state sports ministers today

    New Delhi: Union Sports Minister Shri Anurag Thakur to interact with Sports Ministers of States and Union Territories to draw up a roadmap for Sports development in the country.






    In the meeting, the states and UTs will put forward their plan to make India a top sporting nation.






    Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Nisith Pramanik will also attend the virtual meeting.






    The Government of India’s flagship programs, Khelo India and Fit India will remain an integral part of the interaction.






    The motive of the interaction would be to urge all the states and UTs to organize sporting events across rural and urban areas for able-bodied and para-athletes and to play a key role in the identification of talents at the grassroots level.






    The promotion of school-level sports and support to the School Games Federation of India (SGFI) will be another key point of discussion.






    The States and UTs will be asked to form a pool of cash awards for the athletes where both the Central and the State Governments can accumulate the funds.






    The Khelo India Games, which was organized for the first time in 2018, has been a major game-changer for grassroots-level sports competitions in India. Since then, a host of Khelo India games have been hosted, including the Youth, University, and Winter Games. The Khelo India program has also encompassed the up-gradation of several sports infrastructures across the States and UTs as Khelo India State Centres of Excellence (KISCE) and Khelo India Centres (KICs).






    At present, there are 24 KISCEs across 23 States and UTs while 360 KICs have opened in the various districts of the country.






    Moreover, the Fit India movement, launched on National Sports Day 2019 by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has been a game-changer in inculcating the habit of fitness through various campaigns conducted thereon, like the Fit India Freedom Run, the Fit India Mobile App, Fit India Quiz, etc.






    Today, Minister Thakur will request all the sports ministers of the states and UTs to participate and promote the above campaigns.