Union Minister Anurag Thakur informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has approved 340 sports infrastructure projects of various categories in various States and the Union Territories (UTs) across the nation, including Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh, at a total cost of Rs 3566.68 crores. “Whether the government has taken any steps to improve the sports infrastructure in the States of Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh?” was the question Thakur addressed in a written response. Since sports are a state subject, the state governments are in charge of building and maintaining sports infrastructure, according to Thakur. The federal government supports these efforts by filling in important gaps.
However, he further said, that under the “creation and upgradation of Sports Infrastructure” component of the Khelo India Scheme, this Ministry renders financial support for the creation of basic sports infrastructure such as sports complex, synthetic athletic tracks, synthetic hockey fields, synthetic turf football grounds, multipurpose halls and swimming pools along with sports equipment.
“Further, under National Sports Development Funds (NSDF), the government supports various institutions and individuals for the creation and upgradation of Sports facilities across the country. Till date, this Ministry has sanctioned 340 sports infrastructure projects, the total cost of various categories in various States/UTs across the country, including the States of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh at a total cost of Rs 3,566.68 crores,” added the Minister.
When asked if any new Khelo India Centers (KICs) had been established by the government in Rajasthan, Gujarat, or Madhya Pradesh, the Minister provided data indicating that 820 of the 1,000 KICs that have been notified are currently operational. As of November 30 of this year, 20,489 athletes had received training in these KICs, according to the data.