Rise of sporting culture will boost India’s soft power - PM

Context

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India’s soft power will increase with the growth of a sporting culture in the country. He was addressing the inaugural ceremony of the seventh Khelo India Youth Games via videoconferencing.

• The Khelo India Youth Games, 2025 is being organised in Bihar for the first time from May 4 to 15 in five districts.

• Stressing that hosting the Olympics in India has been a long-cherished dream of every citizen, Mr. Modi underlined India’s efforts to bring the Olympics to the country in 2036.

• He remarked that initiatives like Khelo India and the Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme have contributed to building a robust sports ecosystem, benefiting thousands of athletes across Bihar and the rest of the country.

Khelo India Initiative

• The Khelo India initiative, launched in 2018, aims to revive India's sports culture by encouraging youth participation and identifying potential Olympians.

• It is a national-level, multi-disciplinary sports competition for school and college students in India.

• The games are held annually in January or February and are part of the government's Khelo India initiative.

• It aims to promote sports culture and identify sporting talent at the grassroots level.

• It is held in two categories, namely under-17-year-old school students and under-21 college students.

TOPS Scheme

• To improve India’s performance at Olympics and Paralympics, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) started the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) in September 2014.

• This was revamped in April 2018 to establish a technical support team for managing the TOPS athletes and providing holistic support.

• High Priority Sports: Archery, Badminton, Boxing, Hockey, Shooting and Wrestling.