NEW DELHI: Khelo India, the government’s flagship programme based on the Gujarat model of ‘Khel Mahakumbh’, has emerged as the biggest beneficiary in the Union sports budget for the financial year 2022-23.
Khelo India’s budget has substantially been increased by Rs 316.29 crore to Rs 974 crore by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, an increase of 32.5 percent from the previous allocation of Rs 657.71 crore.
Out of this year’s budgetary allocation of Rs 3062.60 crore, Rs 2253 crore has been earmarked for sports while the remaining Rs 809.60 crore is reserved for youth affairs. During the previous allocation of Rs 2596.14 crore for 2021-22, Rs 1906.14 crore was set aside for sports while the remaining Rs 600 crore was earmarked for youth affairs. So, if one takes into account the budgetary allocation purely for sports-related activities, then the 2022-23 budget has provided an increase of Rs 346.86 crore or a 15 percent hike.
Out of this raise, Rs 316.29 crore has been reserved solely for Khelo India, an annual national-level multi-disciplinary grassroot games organised in the months of January and February every year. It means that the increase for sports under various other heads has just been Rs 30.57 crore. So, the actual budgetary allocation – excluding the Khelo India incentivisation – stands at Rs 1279 crore (after deducting Rs 974 crore from Rs 2253 crore).
The government’s push for Khelo India has strengthened the impression that the talent identified for the future Olympics, Asian Games and CWG would be nurtured through this programme. A major chunk of money on their training and preparation would be spent under this vertical, which again leaves the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and national sports federations (NSFs) with their hands tied. When it comes to major government funding to prepare for forthcoming multisport disciplinary events, there isn’t much to cheer about.
SAI’s budgetary allocation for the coming fiscal has seen a slight dip of Rs 7.41 crore – from the previous year’s Rs 660.41 crore to Rs 653 crore. Similarly, there has been no increase in the NSFs’ spending, with the budget providing for Rs 280 crore assistance as was the case in the previous financial year. The National Sports Development Fund (NSDF), which provides financial assistance to scores of athletes in the country not covered under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), has witnessed a cut of Rs nine crore from Rs 25 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 16 crore in 2022-23.
