Khelo India

Mayank K Tolani and Prince Singh

VIT Chennai, Tamil Nadu

mayanktolani19@gmail.com

singhprince444ak@gmail.com

Abstract:
In order to revive the sports culture in the country at the grassroots level, in December 2017, the Indian
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports launched 'Khelo India', a National Programme for Development of
Sports in India. 'Khelo India' came into existence by merging the ongoing programmes such as 'Rajiv
Gandhi Khel Abhiyan', 'Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme' and 'National Sports Talent Search System
Programme'. India had been grappling with lack of supporting infrastructure, lack of organized system of
talent search and absence of encouragement to the young people to participate in sports. Therefore,
Khelo India marked a watershed moment in the history of Indian sports and could impact the sports
ecosystem like infrastructure, community sports, talent identification, coaching for excellence, and
competition structure and overall sports economy in India. The Khelo India initiative was expected to
scout young talent from schools in several disciplines and groom them as future sports champions. On
January 31st 2018, Khelo India School Games (KISG), one of the programme verticals of Khelo India was
launched by Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, to showcase India's young sporting talent and its
sports potential. The KISG had attracted massive participation and viewership in inauguration as well as
concluding ceremonies. However, many experts were of the view that like previous sports development
efforts by various former sports ministers, this initiative also may not succeed. Amidst this backdrop,
would Khelo India be able to transform India into a global sporting powerhouse?
Keywords- Khelo Indian Sports, Cricket, Schemes, Laws.

I. INTRODUCTION
India is home to a diverse population playing many different kinds of sports across the country. Cricket is the most
popular sport in India. Field hockey is the most successful sport for India at Olympics in which India has won eight
Olympic gold medals. Kabaddi is the most popular indigenous sport in the country. Other popular sports in India are
badminton, football, basketball, chess, shooting, wrestling, boxing, tennis, squash, weightlifting, gymnastics, athletics
and table tennis. Some indigenous sports are also popular in India such as Kho-kho, Kabaddi, Fighter kite, Polo and
Gillidanda among others. There are some popular sports which has originated in India such as Chess, Snooker and
Kabbadi. India has won Olympic medals in Badminton, Wrestling, Shooting, Weightlifting, Boxing and Tennis. India
has also won World Cups in Cricket, Field Hockey and Kabbadi. But only most of the game are not in the central area
and Hence, India is not performing well in it. Or Vise Versa

The Khelo India programme has been introduced to revive the sports culture in India at the grass-root level by
building a strong framework for all sports played in our country and establish India as a great sporting nation.
 II. HISTORY
The geography of sports in India dates back to the Vedic era. Physical culture in ancient India was fuelled by religious
rights. the battledore being a paddle and the shuttlecock a small feathered cork, now usually called a "bird." Games
like chess (chaturanga), Snooker snakes and ladders, playing cards, originated in India, and it was from here that
these games were transmitted to foreign countries, where they were further modernized. India hosted the Asian
Games in New Delhi in 1951 and 1982. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports was initially set up as the
Department of Sports in 1982 at the time of organization of the IX Asian Games in New Delhi. Its name was changed
to the Department of Youth Affairs & Sports during celebration of the International Youth Year in 1985.[2]India has
also hosted or co-hosted several international sporting events, including the 1987 and 1996 Cricket World Cup, the
2003 Afro-Asian Games, the 2010 Hockey World Cup, and the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Major international
sporting events annually held in India include the Chennai Open, Mumbai Marathon, Delhi Half Marathon, and the
Indian Masters. The country co-hosted the 1987, 1996, 2011 Cricket World Cup and the first Indian Grand Prix in
2011.

III. CORRUPTION IN SPORTS

In practice, the existing general criminal laws in India have significant limitations in their application to matters of
sports integrity. For example, offences in the nature of ‘cheating’ requires a victim of the alleged act to be ‘deceived’
such that such person ‘deliver[s] any property to any person’ and this causes such person ‘damage or harm’ ‘in body,
mind, reputation or property’. For an alleged offence of match fixing, the prosecution has found it difficult, if not
impossible, to prove these constituent elements of such an offence, finding it particularly challenging to identify a
victim and the damage or harm caused to him or her. It is to be remembered that this is in a context where betting is
illegal and punters cannot be the putative victims, a legal route used in other jurisdictions. This has led to those
accused of ‘match fixing’ being tried under laws relating to organized crime (such as the Maharashtra Control of
Organized Crime Act, 1999), on the basis that they have conspired with the underworld. But this is more out of
compulsion rather than by choice. With the substantive framework being ambiguous at best, this also creates
significant limitations in criminal procedure, of investigation, evidence gathering and prosecution of offences.
Administrative bodies that police sport within the federations do not have legal powers of search and investigation
and those state bodies that do have these powers are unable to exercise them effectively.

It is in this context that the National Sports Ethics Commission Bill, 2016 (2016 Bill) must be seen. The Bill was
introduced earlier this year by Mr. Anurag Singh Thakur, M.P. a member of the BJP, the ruling party at the Centre.
Mr. Thakur was then Secretary of the BCCI and has since taken the reigns as its President. The frustration of the,
thus far, unsuccessful attempts at prosecuting alleged IPL ‘fixers’ under the Indian criminal law’s provisions for
‘dishonesty’ and ‘cheating’ are listed in the Bill’s Statement of Objects and Reasons as key motivators for the
proposed legislation.

In early 2016, a new Bill known as the “National Sports Ethics Commission Bill 2016” was introduced to the Indian
Parliament. The 2016 Bill’s stated aim is to bring about legislative reform to help improve the integrity of sports in
India, which has in recent times suffered a series of scandals and corrupt practices. This article analyses the Bill’s
proposals and explains the sporting, legislative and political landscape that surrounds it.

IV. KHELO INDIA

A Scheme called Khelo India – National Programme for Development of Sports”is being implemented by the ministry
as a central sector scheme from the current financial year said minister of state (I/C) for Youth Affairs and Sports
Vijay Goel.Among other things the scheme provides for creation of sports infrastructure that includes making of
Synthetic athletic track, synthetic hockey field, synthetic turf football ground, multipurpose hall and other similar
facilities. This scheme is applicable all over India.

There are a number of projects that can be sanctioned funding under the scheme include the above and some others
like construction of stadia complex at district headquarters etc. Construction of Stadia Complex will be decided by this
ministry after taking into account the various facilities available in a state. Construction of stadia complex could
include facilities like construction of multi-purpose indoor halls for indoor games, indoor stadium including swimming
pool complex, outdoor stadium with spectator gallery facilities, Courts for sports like tennis, squash, basketball, volley
ball and others. Talented players identified in priority sports disciplines at various levels by the High-Powered
Committee will be provided annual financial assistance of INR 5 lakh per annum for 8 years.
Khelo India School Games, which are a part of the Khelo India programme, are being held from 31st January to 8th
February, 2018 in New Delhi. Under-17 athletes have been invited to participate across 16 disciplines, which are as
follows: Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Football, Gymnastics, Hockey, Judo, Kabaddi, Kho-Kho,
Shooting, Swimming, Volleyball, Weightlifting, and Wrestling.

V. QUESTIONNAIRE
 Can we rely on sports as a career?

 Do you think that some sports are given more priority in in India?

 Do we have the right infrastructures and facilities for sports?

 What is the reason for India’s poor performance in Olympics?

 If Khelo India is implemented correctly, will it boost up India’s performance?

 Khelo india is an act of politics

 Khelo India Initiative is an important need for our country.
 India has a poor sports culture.
 There is corruption in quota reserved for sports.
 Quota system in sports is gender biased.

We used Google document to get the answer also 20 persons were interviewed with total number
of 120 peoples responding.

VI.ANSWERS WITH POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS

 Most People agreed that in India people cannot directly rely on sports for their living. Most popular
reason was No family support or less career opportunities.

A career in sports industry as a sportsperson or even as a professional is an exciting option that not only offers good money but

also fame and recognition

The India-Pakistan cricket match during the T20 world cup this year brought the country to a standstill. Work came to a halt and

all people could talk about was the match. A few days later when the Indian team lifted the world cup, there was a sense of

euphoria and victory in the nation. Celebrations went on for days and it felt like we had won a war. Such is the importance of

sports in our country.

Though it is true that cricket is more popular than other sports, but with the exceptionally good performance of the Indian

contingent at the Commonwealth Games in 2010, other sports are seen in a new light. A career of a sports person is

accompanied with its share of glamour and fame but this does not come easy. Focus, hard work and determination are

important for a player to excel. Being on top of your game and making sacrifices to reach there are just part of the journey.

 Some Sports are given more priority, most participants agreed that Cricket is given most of the priority.

Even many experts have this question, but can be answered easily. Truth is blind craze & madness. This is not just for cricket,
for all games that are given more importance.
From my view, the reasons are,

 Legends & performance: Gavaskar, Kapil dev, Sachin, Dravid and Ganguly kick started the trend. Now its Dhoni,
Kohli continuing it.
 Advertisements: From our childhood, these legends are flashing everywhere. Forcing us to get in to cricket and to
support it.
 Movies: Addition to advertisements, media made us to believe that Cricket is the only battlefield to show our
superiority over our neighbouring countries. So we don’t care when we loose cheaply on other games (shame on
us).
 If any other reasons are there, they will come under the consequences of these topics.

 50% of people agreed that India has poor infrastructure and facilities for sports and it is one of the main
reason why India is very behind.

Sports infrastructure plays a crucial role in achieving excellence in the global arena of sports. It not only helps in producing
sportspersons of international repute, but also encourages the youth population of a country to participate in sporting activities
to create a culture of sports. In India, the standard of sports infrastructure is not at a satisfactory level for a number of reasons.

The lack of infrastructural facilities is one of the major impediments in the process of development of sports in India. The
objective of this article is to analyze the present state of sports infrastructure of the country and propose a possible road map
for its development.

In recent years, a phenomenal growth has been observed in Indian sports with the staging of mega-events such as the
Commonwealth Games 2010, Hockey World Cup and Cricket World Cup, and the winning of medals in the international
competitions.

India won a total of six medals in the 2012 London Olympics, including two silver and four bronze. The success of Sushil Kumar,
Abhinav Bindra, Mary Kom, Saina Nehwal and Sania Mirza has already established the country on the global sports map.The
continued success of Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa has created a prominent position for India in the
discipline of golf. In cricket, India has already emerged as a superpower due to its excellence in sporting and commercial
performance.A number of schemes have been introduced to promote sports at the grass-root level.

PYKKA is one of them.Despite all these successes, it is pertinent to mention that the sports infrastructure in India is still not at
the desired level, and this creates an obstacle in developing sports in the country.

 Bad Infrastructure and Corruption are the key points for lagging in the performance of India. Also
participants voted for less career opportunities and less sporty cultures.

 Lack of Money

Most Indian athletes struggle to get enough funding for the training and equipment they need. Abhinav Bindra,
India’s only Olympic gold-medalist shooter, who missed the bronze medal by a whisker at Rio, has spoken in the
past about the lack of government funding.]

 Insufficient Infrastructure

Some of India’s top athletes say they don’t have easy access to the coaches, facilities and equipment they need to
train at a world-beating level.
Karnam Malleswari, who won a bronze medal for weightlifting in Sydney in 2000, says she was “self-funded,” until
she brought home a medal and even then the weights she was given to train on didn’t meet Olympic standards.

 Not Enough Chances to Compete with the World’s Best

Indian athletes in sports like judo don’t have enough chances to hone their skills by competing at an international
level.

“Our disadvantage was that we were way behind the world competition level,” said Mr. Srinivas at Sports
Authority of India.

 The Country is Cricket Crazy

Cricket is king in India and takes the lion’s share of government funding and private sector sponsorship. It also
sucks up most of the great athletes.

Gymnastics, for example, got very little attention until Dipa Karmakar, India’s first female gymnast to compete at
the Olympic Games, came tantalizingly close to winning a medal in Rio.

A Gymnast's Death-Defying Leap to Success

 Lack of Media Promotion

India’s vibrant media companies have gotten behind everything from soccer and field hockey to kabaddi (and of
course cricket) hoping to attract millions of sports fans and the advertisers that want to reach them. They have not
shown as much enthusiasm about the Olympics.

“People often don’t know about Olympic sports,” said Ms. Malleswari.

 Over 70% People agreed if Khelo India successfully completes its Objectives It will definitely
bring a positive result.
“The revamped Khelo India Programme will impact the entire sports eco-system in the country,” he said, while
briefing the media about the scheme. “This will include infrastructure, community sports, talent identification,
coaching for excellence, competition structure and the sports economy.”

Under the Indian Sports Scholarship Scheme, the minister has plans to award a thousand annual scholarships, worth

Rs 5 lakh each for talented athletes, for eight years. This will help prepare them for international competitions. He

also has plans to adopt 150 schools and 20 universities from across the country to become hubs of sporting excellence.

The larger aim of the Khelo India programme is to provide 20 crore children, in the age group of 10-18, the

opportunity to take part in sporting activity; to play.

Besides the Khelo India School Games which were held recently, in the first week of February, events for university

level athletes are now on the anvil. A working group to identify talent, and recommend names for higher level of

training has already been appointed. This committee consists of Arjuna Awardees and Dhronacharyas.

If handled efficiently, and with an iron hand, Khelo India can be the game changer that Indian sport has been looking

for. In fact, many believe that this programme should have been implemented many decades ago.The sports minister,

in all his wisdom, will however be aware that for such a scheme to be successful in India will not only take a lot of

effort and money; it will also need determination, administrative acumen and a hell of a lot of integrity at every level.

VII.METHODLOGY

Here are the best 5 things that we Think government should look into

1) Recognizing Sports as an Industry

In a fast-growing economy like India, there is a tremendous potential for the sports sector to develop and achieve the
status of an industry. Previously, the sports sector was considered a loss-making venture but with the boom of multi-
sporting events and leagues that is soon to change. India, now hosts the Indian Premier League (cricket), Hockey
India League, Indian Super League (football), Pro Kabbadi League and Indian Badminton League, all of which have
aided in the growth of the sports sector.

As the sporting scenario in India is evolving, we are witnessing an ever-growing demand for sports entrepreneurship.
This is the right moment to venture into the sports sector, where there is ample room to flourish. We, as a country,
must award sports an industry status, given the fact that, now, India is not just recognised through cricket but also
through other sports such as tennis, badminton, hockey, athletics and much more.

Once, sports is recognised as an industry, it can generate a large number of employment opportunities in the form of
the apparel and equipment sector, sports medicine, sports tourism and other sport-related sectors.

2) Promoting Industry-based Sports Education Programmes

As the sports sector is well on its path to attain industry status, there has been a sudden demand for industry-based
sports education programmes. We see a spurt in sport management programmes, sports medicines, sports tourism
and affiliated sectors. This is a sign for the Indian government to take effective methods to promote programmes that
cater to the industry-based sports education.

3) Increase Funds and Tax Holidays for Sports-Based Firms

In order to attract young and visionary entrepreneurs to the sports sector, the Indian government must increase
funding and offer tax holidays for sports-based firms. This move will serve as an impetus in the growth of an industry
which has a global presence. India has a great potential for sports entrepreneurship, thanks to the existing huge
market but the lack of government initiatives have hindered the growth of this potential sector. We need to create
sectors like SEZ for sport-specific companies which will aid the growth of the sports sector.

4) Assistance for R&D in the Sports Sector

The Indian government must invest in technological advances such as sports analytics to assist in coaching
professional athletes. It must also provide wearables, sensors, and nutrition as per the requirement of the sport and
the sportsperson.
Also, the government must invest in professional coaching which will increase the quality of guidance given to the
Indian sportsperson. There is also a need to bring in performance apparel and equipment of international standard for
our athletes. Lastly, partnerships with tech companies and progressive governments will attract the best talent in the
sports arena.

5) Provide Land and Invest in Sports Infrastructure through PPP Model

A Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model works best for building sports infrastructure. Also, a long-term land lease
will help to get adequate land to build such facilities. India being the second most populated country in the world has
the ability to churn out athletes who can put us on the global map in terms of sports, other than cricket. We've already
seen the rising stars in India putting on splendid performances, but the facilities provided to such brilliant performers
are far from good. A perfect blend of private and public partnerships is the solution to the troubles India faces when it
comes to providing world-class sports infrastructure to its budding athletes.

VIII.CONCLUSION

We have studied and examined the ways by which Khelo India can Interact with current Indian
sports Environment. Although It is not a new program as It is created by merging some old
schemes and programs But As showed Previously if it is Implement Perfectly It may change the
Situation. We expect this paper will grab the attention of a much wider body of Khelo India and
Government and also Inspire others. In Future Government may Introduce some new clause or
Benefits to ensure the wider applications. At present Time the Schemes has a unpredictable
Future.
 IX REFRENCES

[1] Khelo India official Website, https://kheloindia.gov.in/, Government Website

[2]Wikipeadia, https://en.wikipedia.org/, The Free Encyclopedia

[3] Tasmayee Laha Roy,The Economic Times, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ , Mar 16, 2017

[4] Dr. Nico Beute, Dean of Engineering Faculty, https://www.ieee.org ,IEEE Expert

[5] Google, https://www.google.com/ ,Search Engine

[6] Prime Minister's Office, https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/ , Government ministry