Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Monday chaired a meeting with sports ministers of states and Union Territories (UTs), in the presence of Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Nisith Pramanik. This meeting was held in order to draw a roadmap projected towards preparing the country’s athletes for forthcoming ventures. The Union Sports Minister said that the concerned management had reached an agreement to meet at least twice a year, so as to evaluate progress on better infrastructure.

Key Points of the meeting:

The meeting chaired by Sports Ministers Anurag Thakur and Nisith Pramanik was to build a roadmap to prepare athletes for future Olympic events, Asian Games, and Commonwealth Games. Following the major success of the Indian contingent at the Olympics and the Paralympics, Thakur attested that the ministry had agreed to meet at least twice a year to evaluate progress on better sports infrastructure. While speaking to the press after the meeting, Thakur said, “We will also be holding regional meetings in various zones and will be looking at creating a dashboard where the data regarding the sports infrastructure (is) available at block level in each state.”

Thakur plans to develop India’s sports ecosystem

The topics on the agenda also revolved around the encouragement of school-level sports and support for the School Games Federation of India (SGFI). The states and UTs have been asked to construct a pool of monetary awards for the athletes, with funding coming from both the Union and State governments. The sports minister discussed the flagship programs launched by the government ‘Khelo India’ and ‘Fit India’. Along with that, Union Minister Anurag Thakur additionally urged the state governments to organise more sporting events in rural and urban areas to help identify the sporting talent at the grass-root level. At present, India comprises 24 Khelo India State Centres of Excellence (KISCE) spread throughout 23 states and UTs, including 360 Khelo India Centres (KIC) spread across the country. Thakur also encouraged the states and UTs to submit plans to open KISCEs, KICs, and academic institutions to help develop the nation’s sports ecosystem and nurture new talent. 

Image: Twitter/@Anurag_Office