Khelo India programme

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News?
• Khelo India
• News Summary

Why in News?

• Replying to a discussion in the Lok Sabha, Union sports minister said that the Sports ministry plans to open 1,000 Khelo India centres across states by August 15, 2023.

What is Khelo India programme?

• The Khelo India programme has been introduced to revive the sports culture in India at the grass-root level by building a strong framework for all sports played in our country.
• Talented players identified in priority sports disciplines at various levels by the High-Powered Committee will be provided annual financial assistance of INR 5 lakh per annum for 8 years.
• 12 verticals under the Khelo India programme:

Image Caption: Components of Khelo India

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News Summary

• Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said that 1,000 Khelo India centres will be opened all over the country by August 15 next year.
• The minister was speaking in Lok Sabha during the ongoing Winter Session of the Parliament.

Key highlights: What are the steps taken by the government to promote sports?

Many Indian martial arts will go international

• The minister said Mallakhamb, Thang Ta, Yogasana, Gatka and Kalaripayattu will soon go international.
• Mallakhamb –
  • As an ancient Indian sport, mallakhamb is a form of ancient martial arts intended as a training aid for wrestlers and ancient warriors.
  • Mallakhamb means wrestling on a pole (a type of Indian gymnastics on a vertical pole).
  • Wrestlers and warriors used to use the pole as a training apparatus to perfect martial arts moves which they could later use on opponents in the ring or the battlefield.
• Thang Ta
  • It is a Manipuri martial art which is dedicated to fighting skill and worship.
  • It integrates various external weapons – the sword, spear, dagger, etc. – with the internal practice of physical control through soft movements coordinated with the rhythms of breathing.
• Yogasana
  • Yogasana is a sport that focuses on the physical aspect of yoga, where players have to perform yogic postures and are judged on their difficulty, balance, control, flexibility and endurance.
  • The difference between yoga and yogasana is that yogasana only lays emphasis on the physical side of the discipline while yoga also gives importance to the mental and spiritual aspects.
  • Yogasana was formally recognized as a sport in 2020, with the National Yoga Sports Federation being the official governing body for the sport in India.
  • With an emphasis on promoting indigenous sports, yogasana was included in the Khelo India Youth Games 2021, along with kalaripayattu, gatka and mallakhamb.
• Gatka
  • Gatka is a traditional martial art form of Punjab and is associated with the Sikh gurus.
  • Gatka is a style of stick fighting between two or more practitioners, with wooden sticks (called Soti) intended to simulate swords.
  • It was one of basic technique of self-defence for Sikh warriors.
• Kalaripayattu
  • Kalaripayattu is the martial art form of Kerala.
  • It has different techniques like meipayattu (physical body exercise), vadipayattu (fight using sticks), valpayattu (fight using swords) and verumkaiprayoga (bare hand exercise).

Appointment of coaches

• Regarding the appointment of coaches, the Sports Minister announced that this year, 398 coaches have been appointed across 21 sports disciplines.

Budget of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports

• The budget of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has increased to 3,062 crore for the year 2022-23.

What are some other initiatives taken to promote sports?

• The minister highlighted some of the initiatives taken by the Centre, such as ‘Meet the Champions’ initiative.
  • This initiative is aimed at making children aware about sports and nutrition with the help of the country’s best sportspersons.
  • It is a unique school visit campaign that was kicked off by Olympic Gold medallist Neeraj Chopra in December 2021.
  • During the school visit, the champion athlete shares their experiences, life lessons, and tips on how to eat right and also give an overall inspirational boost to school children.
• The minister also talked about the Khelo India Youth Games and Khelo India University Games.
  • So far, four editions of Youth Games and two editions of University Games have taken place.
  • In these, 27,000 players have been able to showcase their talent to the country.
  • In the recently concluded Khelo India Youth Games, 12 national records were broken, out of which 11 were broken by girls.

Q1) What is silambam martial art?

Silambam is an ancient martial art from Tamil Nadu. Its origin belonged to the early Dravidian era. The primary focus of the fighters is to use the bamboo stick as a weapon to defeat the opponents.

Q2) What is the origin of Mallakhamb?

The earliest direct literary mention of mallakhamb appears in an early 12th-century text called Manasollasa, penned by Chalukya king  Someshvara III, who ruled in present-day South India at the time.