Sportspersons preparing for participation in international sports events are continuously assisted for their training and competitive exposures within the country and abroad through the Annual Calendar of Training & Competitions (ACTC), funded under the Scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations (NSFs). Further, the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) has been implemented since 2014 for meeting the requirements of customized training of the athletes with medal prospects in mega sports events such as the Olympics, the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games, to help them excel at these international sporting events. At present, 98 individual athletes &02 hockey teams (Men’s &Women’s) are included in the TOPS core group. Under the TOPS Development Group, talent identification of 165 elite sporting talents has been completed.
The Government has launched Khelo India Programmes with the twin objectives of mass participation and promotion of excellence in sports. Various programmes have been launched under this scheme to promote sports and to improve the level of sports and infrastructure facilities including stadiums, playing fields, tracks and sports training across the country. At present, 2759 athletes are covered for training and financial support under Khelo India Scheme.
The Sports Authority of India (SAI) is also implementing the following sports promotional schemes across the country to identify talented sportspersons in various age groups and nurture them to excel at national and international levels:-
- National Centres of Excellence (NCOE)
- SAI Training Centre (STC)
- Extension Centre of STC
- National Sports Talent Contest (NSTC)
A total of 188 centres including NCOEs, STCs, Extension Centres, etc. are functional for implementation of above sports promotional schemes of SAI. Presently, 7998 talented sports persons (4969 boys and 3029 girls) are being trained in 34 sports disciplines on residential and non-residential basis.
The selected athletes are provided support in the form of expert coaches, sports equipment, boarding and lodging, sports kit, competition exposure, educational expenses, medical/ insurance and stipend as per the approved scheme norms.
This reply was given by Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur in Lok Sabha today.