Union Budget 2024-25: Khelo India once again gets lion’s share in Budget for sports

Khelo India receives ₹900 crore in the union budget, showcasing government's commitment to grassroots sports development.

Khelo India, which is the government's flagship project to promote sports at the grassroots level, was once again the biggest beneficiary in the union budget for the sports ministry as it was assigned ₹900 crore from the overall allocation of ₹3,442.32 crore on July 23.

Khelo India's share, announced in the budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi, is ₹20 crore more than the revised allocation of ₹880 crore during the previous financial year.

With the Olympic cycle set to come to an end in Paris in August this year, and the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games still two years away, the budget for the Sports Ministry has seen only a marginal increase of ₹45.36 crore from the previous cycle.

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The budget for the previous cycle was ₹3,396.96 crore for the previous financial year.

The government has invested heavily in Khelo India over the years as the programme continues to unearth talent from all parts of the country.

While Khelo India's actual allocation in 2022-23 stood at ₹596.39 crore, it was increased by more than ₹400 crore, to ₹1,000 crores, in the 2023-24 budget, before being revised to ₹880 crore.