Khelo India’s talent program to receive fresh boost from Sports Minister Mandaviya

With the Paris Olympics around the corner, the government’s ambitious Khelo India Rising Talent Identification (KIRTI) programme is set to receive a boost as Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Mansukhbhai Mandaviya, inaugurates Phase 2 of the initiative in New Delhi on Friday.

The first phase of KIRTI was launched by the former Sports Minister, Anurag Thakur in Chandigarh on March 12 this year. KIRTI aims to conduct 20 lakh assessments across the country throughout the year to identify talent through notified Talent Assessment Centres. A scouting and assessment programme of this scale is a first in India and comes at a time as the nation strives to secure a position among the world’s top 10 sports nations by 2036 and among the top five by 2047.

KIRTI’s athlete-centric programme is notable for its transparent selection methodology based on Information Technology. Data analytics, driven by Artificial Intelligence, are being used to predict the sporting acumen of aspiring athletes.

In its first phase, out of 3,62,683 registrations across 70 centres, nearly 51,000 assessments in 28 states and Union Territories have been conducted. Maharashtra and Haryana, the two states that have always performed well in Khelo India meets, have had the maximum number of assessments—9,168 and 4,820, respectively. Assam ranks third, with 4,703 assessments.

Evaluation of aspiring athletes has taken place in 11 disciplines: Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Football, Hockey, Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Volleyball, Weightlifting, and Wrestling. The maximum assessments have occurred in athletics (13,804) and football (13,483).

Mandaviya will highlight the project’s goal of conducting 20 lakh assessments in FY 2024-25 by engaging all states and utilizing districts as primary assessment units. This initiative supports Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of promoting sports among every child in the country through mass participation, ultimately striving for excellence through Khelo India’s structured and pyramidal programmes.