Govt allots Rs 7.87 cr for Khelo India athletes

The Sports Ministry has sanctioned Rs 7.87 crore as out-of-pocket allowance for 2625 Khelo India athletes training in 99 Khelo India academies and other centres across the country.

These athletes were selected to train in various sporting disciplines under the Khelo India Talent Development Scheme, which is a grassroot level talent identification and nurturing endeavour of the government.

The sanction is for the period between October to December this year, and will be paid to each athlete as a sum of Rs 10000 a month.

Of the total number of 2625 athletes, 1312 are training in Khelo India academies and apart from the out-of-pocket allowance, the identified sports talent under the Khelo India Talent Development Scheme is given full support in terms of coaching, sports science, injury prevention, diet, lodging and education.

Each athlete in a Khelo India academy is given an annual scholarship of Rs 5 lakhs, of which Rs 1 lakh 20 thousand is directly transferred to the athlete's bank account as out-of-pocket allowance, the Ministry said in a statement.

The Khelo India Scheme acts as a feeder to other elite schemes of the government, including the Target Olympic Podium Scheme.

Athletes like weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga, shooter Saurabh Chaudhary and swimmer Srihari Nataraj are all Khelo India finds who have later been inducted into the core group or developmental group of TOPS.