Page 47 - NIS English 16-31 August 2023

Fit India Flagship

TOPS HELPING YOUNGESTERS
BECOME CHAMPIONS

The Asian Athletics Championships 2023 set a record for the most medals won in any foreign championship, with 27.
Jyothi Yarraji, Abdulla Aboobacker, Tajinder Pal Singh Toor, Shaili Singh, Priyanka Goswami, Murli Sreeshankar, and DP
Manu, as well as Tejaswin Shankar, who won the bronze medal, were supported by the central government's Target
Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). TOPS is a programme in which the government assists top athletes in preparing
for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Currently, this scheme supports 269 players. With the target of 2028 in TOPS,
the government is currently only taking forward the proposal of sports that are part of the Olympics, Asian Games,
Commonwealth Games, Paralympics, and Para Asian Games. The TOPS is likely to cover the 2028 Olympics and
Paralympics and the 2026 Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and Para Asian Games.

FIT INDIA PROGRAMMES
SPORTS
The first plog run was conducted on October 2,
ECOSYSTEM
2019, in which 30 lakh people participated.
Fit India Cyclothon, Fit India School Week, and India BECOMES FIT
Freedom Run "are also organised. In the Fit India
Freedom Run alone, more than seven crore people
When it comes to sports, naturally, the entire young
covered a distance of 18, 40, 69,332 km in 2022.
generation comes to the fore. When we look at the
younger generation closely, we see that today's young
There are about 11 lakh schools registered in
minds want to do something new with the worn-out
Fit India, out of which about 5 lakh have been
old ways and create new paths. The current central
verified by classifying them into three and
government is encouraging young people to pursue a
five-star categories. career in sports by increasing funding for Khelo India
TAKE THE PLEDGE ON NATIONAL and the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). Due
to this strength of the sports ecosystem, where nine
SPORTS DAY years ago less than 100 players used to participate in
international games, now their number has increased
Today let us take a pledge that we will keep ourselves to more than 300.
fit and encourage our family, friends, neighbours, and
everyone else we know to stay fit. They should give priority
to sports and healthy activities, which will contribute Sports and sportsmanship in the
towards creating a healthy India. If I am fit, India is fit. country do not have to stop now. This
moment has to be made permanent in
KHELO INDIA PROGRAMME family, social, and national life. Be it a

city or a village, our playgrounds should
Launched in the financial year 2016–17, the programme
be full. Let everyone play, let everyone
aims for public participation and excellence in sports.
blossom. It is only through everyone's
Khelo India Academies are given an assistance of Rs.
6.28 lakh per athlete per year for the training of athletes. efforts that India will achieve the heights
Under Khelo India, 297 infrastructure projects have been
in sports that it deserves.
launched, 733 Khelo India centres have been opened, and
266 academies have been recognised.
-Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

heritage in the Amrit Kaal of independence. To has grown into a mass movement. To support this
strengthen this, the 'Fit India Movement, which movement, the country's sports budget has been
started, is actually the 'Hit India Movement'. As steadily increased. Players are also being given
a result, the more fit India is, the more India will more and more resources and getting more and
be hit. In just four years, the Fit India Movement more opportunities.

New India Samachar August 16-31, 2023 45