Page 25 - NIS English 16-31 August 2025

COVER STORY Khelta Bharat,
Support from families, support from coaches, and
support from the government play a vital role in
nurturing talent from every corner of the country.
The Government of India is working tirelessly to
make Indian athletes the best in the world through
its schemes and initiatives. These schemes aim to
identify and encourage talent at the grassroots level,
support the players during their active career and
beyond, as well as create a sustainable ecosystem for
sporting excellence.
SPORTS HAS NOW BECOME A NEW CULTURE
The Prime Minister himself talks to the players.
Review the preparations for the Olympics and
interact. Have you heard this before in India? This
change has come in the new sports culture of India
in the last 11 years. The responsibility of the central
government is to bring every talent out of the grass-
roots level and take it to the international stage, and
provide every possible help for this. Earlier, for a long
time, only cricketers were considered icons. People
developed the mindset that only those who play
cricket become millionaires, whereas in other sports,
the government gives money initially on winning
medals, but no attention is paid after that. Now this
situation is changing. The youngest country in the
world with a great history of sports, where there is
no dearth of talent, yet sports could never become a
culture. But, in the last 11 years, the central govern- n In October 2019, more than 1,500 Fit India Plog
ment has not only coined a new definition of sports
by making sports a culture, but the thinking has also
been formed that players and athletes should only
focus on their best performance, and the country
will take care of the rest. Pierre de Coubertin, the
founder of the Olympics, had said that winning or
losing in sports is not important; what is important
is participating in sports. Whereas Prime Minister
Modi has always believed that there is never defeat
in sports. There is only victory or new learning. The
result of this thinking of the modern leadership that
encourages this notion is that society is now also
accepting sports as a profession.
When the government and the policy makers are
connected to the grassroots level, then the govern-
ment is sensitive towards the interests of the players,
when the government understands the struggle of
the players, their dreams, then its direct impact is
also visible in the policies of the government. There
Khilta Bharat
TOPS…the biggest preparation
for success in the Olympics
The Target Olympic Podium Scheme i.e. TOPS
was launched in 2014 to improve the performance
of Indian athletes in the Olympics and give them
full support. Under this, the central government
provides assistance to the top athletes of India to
prepare for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Selected athletes are supported with funding from
the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF)
for training and other assistance not available
under the general schemes of the ministry. Core
group athletes are given an out-of-pocket allowance
(OPA) of Rs 50,000 per month. Apart from this, a
development group was also added to assist junior
athletes with a scholarship of Rs 25,000 per month.
By August 2024, 174 individual athletes and 2
hockey teams (men and women) have been selected
as core groups under this scheme.
Fit India Movement
With an aim to make fitness an integral part of
daily life, the Fit India Movement was launched
by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 29 August
2019. The mission of this movement is to bring
about a change in behavior and move towards a
more physically active lifestyle.
Major achievements of the scheme…
Runs were organized across the country under
the Fit India Movement.
n Under this movement, Fit India Family sessions
were organized, aimed at inculcating fitness
routines in families by sharing simple and easy
tips on fitness with experts.
n A special online series called ‘Fit India-Swasth
Hindustan’ program was launched. Talk show
of eminent fitness experts and Fit India icons.
n For the first time, Fit India Carnival, a three-day
fitness and wellness festival, was organized in
New Delhi in March 2025.
August 16-31, 2025 || NEW INDIA SAMACHAR 23