Cabinet sets aside ₹565 crore state share in revamped Khelo India scheme

The Union Cabinet has approved a ₹29,054 crore outlay for the Khelo India Scheme, with a ₹565 crore component earmarked for states to share the cost of future sports infrastructure projects over the next five years, The Hindu reported. The central share of the corpus stands at ₹28,489 crore, while a separate ₹7,387 crore has been set aside for the Assistance to National Sports Federations scheme. The Sports Ministry has not disclosed how the state component will be split among individual states. The Centre will bear 60% of infrastructure costs in general states, 90% in North-Eastern and Himalayan states, and the full cost in Union Territories. A Sports Ministry source told PTI the demarcation was not in the previous scheme and was done to make states a partner with ownership in the projects. The Hindu reported the earlier scheme had provisions only for central funding. The scheme currently supports close to 3,000 Khelo India athletes across 22 sports, a figure the ministry hopes to raise at least nine times.