Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur yesterday announced to setting up of one thousand Khelo India Centres across the country under the Khelo India Scheme in the next two months. He was inaugurating the sixth edition of the Khasdar Krida Mahotsav, a Sports Festival, conceptualised by Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, at Yashwant Stadium in Nagpur yesterday. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari was also present on the occasion. While emphasising the budget allocation to Sports, Anurag Thakur informed that the Central government has increased the Sports budget from 800 crore to 3,200 crore rupees.
Mentioning the performance of the country’s athletes, Mr Thakur said that a few years ago the country did not have a sports-friendly environment but now India has set a record with a century of medals in the Asian Games. Traditional sports of Maharashtra like Mallakhamba as well as other traditional sports of the country have been made part of the national as well as Khelo India Games. He said that efforts would be taken to bring these traditional games to the international level and place these games in the Olympics as well.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the number of participants in this Sports Festival has been increasing for the last five years. This 17-day sports extravaganza will include 60 sports which will be played on the 66 grounds in Nagpur city. Prizes over 1.35 crore rupees will also be distributed in this Sports Festival. All the athletes participating in this sports event will also be given an insurance cover of 2 lakh rupees each for one year.
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