Parliament Question: Promotion of indigenous and rural sports

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF YOUTH AFFAIRS & SPORTS (DEPARTMENT OF SPORTS) RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 4480 ANSWERED ON- 02/04/2026 PROMOTION OF INDIGENOUS AND RURAL SPORTS

4480. SHRI RAGHAV CHADHA

Will the Minister of YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS be pleased to state :-

(a) the steps taken during the last five years to promote indigenous and rural sports;

(b) the financial assistance provided for competitions and training in such sports during the said period, year-wise;

(c) the number of indigenous sports included in national-level sporting events during the last five years, event-wise; and

(d) the impact of such initiatives on grassroots participation, including the number of participants enrolled under such programmes? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF YOUTH AFFAIRS & SPORTS (DR. MANSUKH MANDAVIYA)

(a) to (d) ‘Sports’ being a State subject, the responsibility for development of sports, including taking steps for the promotion of indigenous and rural sports, providing financial assistance for competitions and training, and expanding grassroots participation, rests primarily with the respective State/Union Territory Governments. The Union Government supplements their efforts by bridging critical gaps. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports implements the following schemes for development of sports in the country, including for indigenous and rural sports:

i. Khelo India – National Programme for Development of Sports; ii. Assistance to National Sports Federations (NSFs); iii. Cash Incentives to Medal Winners in International Sports Events and their coaches;

iv. National Sports Awards; v. Pension to Meritorious Sportspersons; vi. Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay National Welfare Program for Sportspersons; vii. National Sports Development Fund; viii. Running Sports Training centres through Sports Authority of India (SAI); and ix. National Centre for Sports Science and Research (NCSSR).

Details of the above schemes are available in the public domain on the websites of this Ministry and the Sports Authority of India.

In addition, the ‘Promotion of rural and indigenous/tribal games’ sub-component of the Khelo India Scheme, is specifically dedicated to the development and promotion of rural and indigenous games Page 1 of 2in the country. Indigenous games like Mallakhamb, Kalaripayattu, Gatka, Thang-Ta, Yogasana and Silambam have been identified for promotion under this component and were made part of Khelo India Games.

Funds are allocated and released Scheme-wise and not event and component-wise in this Ministry.

The details of funds allocated and expenditure incurred under various Sports Development Schemes of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports across the country, including for competitions and training for indigenous and rural sports, during the last five years are as under:

(amount in ₹ crore) Financial Year Funds allocated Expenditure incurred 2024-25 2332.50 2136.97 2023-24 2380.86 2329.35 2022-23 1907.69 1879.99 2021-22 1993.00 1748.76 2020-21 1313.40 1304.12 In addition, financial assistance is also provided under the Assistance to National Sports Federations Scheme for indigenous disciplines such as Yogasana, Kabaddi and Kho-Kho for training, coaching camps, equipment, competitions and athlete support.

During the last five years, three indigenous sports, namely Yogasana, Kho Kho and Kabaddi, have been included in national-level sporting events. Further, five indigenous disciplines namely Mallakhamb, Thang-Ta, Kalaripayattu, Gatka and Yogasana have been included in multiple editions of the Khelo India Youth Games and Khelo India University Games, while Silambam was also featured as a demonstration sport during the Khelo India Youth Games held in Tamil Nadu.

These initiatives have strengthened grassroots participation by expanding opportunities for training, competitions and talent identification through the Khelo India framework, Sports Authority of India promotional schemes and support to National Sports Federations. Further, under the revised Assistance to National Sports Federations norms, National Sports Federations are required to earmark at least 20% of their annual budget for grassroots development, which is expected to further enhance participation and enrolment under such programmes.

**** Page 2 of 2