India Youth Sports Development 2025 : India has the world’s largest youth population, with about 65% of people under 35 years of age. To take advantage of this big youth power, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is doing very important work. This ministry is running several schemes to strengthen the personality of the youth, increase their skills and promote unity in the country. To improve the future of India’s game, the government has given a record budget of Rs 3794 crore to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for FY 2025-26. Out of this, Rs 2,191.01 crore has been kept for the Center’s schemes, in which the major ‘Khelo India’ program has received Rs 1,000 crore. In the year 2014-15, the ministry received Rs 1643 crore, which has now increased by 130.9% to Rs 3794 crore in 2025-26.
Khelo India Scheme
Khelo India-National Sports Development Program launched in 2016-17, is aimed at promoting public participation and sports excellence in both rural and urban areas. The scheme was expanded for five years in 2021 with a outlay of Rs 3,790.50 crore. Major achievements include: • 326 new sports infrastructure projects costing Rs 3,124.12 crore.
• Establishment of 1,045 Khelo India Centers (KIC) for training and assistance at the grassroots level.
• 34 Khelo India State Excellence Centers (KISCE) notification and recognition of 306 academies.
• Assist 2,845 Khelo India athletes (KIA) with coaching, equipment, medical care and monthly out-packet allowance.
Play India Games
Under the Khelo India Abhiyan, Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG), Khelo India University Games (KIUG), Khelo India Para Games and Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG) were established as annual national sports competitions, where young players performed their skills and competed for medals respectively. This initiative started in 2018 with the Khelo India School Games held in New Delhi. It was later further encouraged after joining this initiative of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and as a result, Khelo India School Games was renamed as Khelo India Youth Games from 2019.
KIYG started with 18 Games in 2018. In 2025, when the 7th edition of KIG was held in Bihar, it included 27 sports. So far, 17 editions of Khelo India Games have been organized, in which more than 50,000 athletes have participated. In Khelo India Para Games 2023 and 2025, more than 1,300 athletes participated.
Kirti (Khelo India Rising Talent Identification)
Kirti is a nationwide initiative to identify and promote sports talent in children aged 9 to 18 years. The program uses talent assessment centers (TACs) across the country, standardized protocols and advanced IT devices (including AI and data analytics) for transparent, qualification-based selection. Currently there are 174 TACs in the country. Kirti aims to create a permanent chain of athletes to help India to become the top-10 sports nation by 2036 and the top-5 nation by 2047 by 2036.
Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS)
The government provides assistance to India’s top athletes for the preparation of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Selected athletes are supported with funding from the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) for customized training and other assistance not available under 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 providing assistance to junior athletes with a stipend of Rs 25,000 per month. TOPS contributed to India winning medals in the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics. As of August 2024, 174 individual athletes and 2 hockey teams (men and women) have been selected as core groups under this scheme.
Fit India Movement
The Fit India Movement was started with the aim of making fitness an integral part of our daily life. The mission of this movement is to change the behavior and move towards a more active lifestyle. The major achievements under this scheme are as follows:
• First Fit India Carnival, a three -day fitness and wellness festival, held in March 2025 in New Delhi.
• In 2023, a special online series called ‘Fit India-Healthy Hindustan’ program, which is a talk show of noted fitness experts and Fit India icon, was launched.
• Under this movement, the Fit India Family Sessions were organized, which aims to include fitness routine in families by simple and easy formulas on fitness with experts.
• In October 2019, more than 1500 Fit India Plogue runs were organized across the country under the Fit India Movement.
Indians perform in major international competitions
Olympic- India’s Olympic visit saw significant changes between 2016 and 2024, which outlined a new era of athletic excellence. In Rio 2016, with a slight increase of 2 medals by the 117-member team, India won 7 medals in Tokyo 2020 and continued strong performance with 6 medals in Paris 2024, both parties were of 117–119 athletes. Those who perform remarkable performance during this period include India’s first Olympic gold medalist (Tokyo 2020) Neeraj Chopra and Meerabai Chanu, who won medals in weightlifting.
Paralympic India’s paralympic achievements have increased rapidly in the last three versions, reflecting a strong support system for disabled athletes. Rio 2016 with 4 medals with 19 athletes, Tokyo increased to 19 medals in 2020 and Paris reached 29 medals in 2024, where 84 Indian athletes participated. This success includes 7 gold, 9 silver and 13 bronze in 2024 alone, which is a proof of India’s growing strength in para-sports. Major stars include Avni Lekhra in shooting, Sumit Anil in javelin throw and Pramod Bhagat in Badminton. The inclusion of para-athletes in programs like TPS and Khelo India Para Games has helped India emerge as a force in global para-sports.
Asian Games- Year host city Indian athletes won medals gold silver bronze
India’s performance in the Asian Games shows the continuous increase in both participation and podium finish. In Incheon 2014, an Indian contingent of 541 athletes won 57 medals. By Jakarta 2018, it increased to 570 athletes and 69 medals. Hangzo was successful in 2023, where India sent its largest party of 655 athletes so far and returned to the historic 107 medals including 28 gold, 38 silver and 41 bronze. Athletes like Neeraj Chopra in javelin throw, Lovelina Borgohen in boxing, and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy in Badminton and Chirag Shetty contributed significantly to this record.
Commonwealth Games- India has consistently demonstrated excellence in the Commonwealth Games. In Glasgow 2014, the 215 -member team won 64 medals. The number rose to 66 with 218 athletes in Gold Coast 2018 and Birmingham remained stable with 61 medals with 210 athletes in 2022. These medals are included in various sports like wrestling, weightlifting, table tennis and athletics. Prominent protesters include PV Sindhu in badminton, Vinesh Phogat in wrestling and Achinta Sheuli in weightlifting.
Global Connection and Diplomacy
• FIFA Under-17 Women’s Football World Cup was held in 2022, Bhubaneswar in 2022. It was the second major football event held in the last five years.
• India hosted several major international events related to sports.
• The Indian delegation led by the Sports Secretary participated in the seventh International Conference (MINEPS VII) of ministers and senior officials responsible for physical education and sports organized by UNESCO in Baku, Azerbaijan. India’s participation was important, in which a special yoga session was held for the representatives.
Special package for development of sports infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir
A special package of Rs 200 crore was approved in 2015 for the development of sports infrastructure in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The existing stadiums and other works approved for the capital districts like Srinagar and Jammu were renewed by the Ministry. The estimated cost of these works was estimated at Rs 84 crore.
Plans and programs to support players in India
India’s support for its athletes is now more structured and concentrated than ever before. The approach is overall and covers every stage of the athlete’s journey. The government has taken large -scale steps, from finding raw talents in villages to supporting Olympic medal winners. There are now many types of schemes, many types of schemes, to meet the real needs of the players. Each step is designed to help athletes move forward and to stay on top.
The National Sports Award is the highest sports honor in India, which has given India a place on the global sports map, it celebrates the extraordinary achievements of those athletes. These prestigious awards to be given annually honors exceptional performance in national and international events, as well as promote sportsmanship beyond boundaries. There are a total of six categories of awards to players in India.
Nehru Yuva Kendra Organization
Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) is one of the largest youth organizations in the world. The presence of NYKS is in 623 districts through Nehru Yuva Kendras (NYK). The focus of NYKS activities includes literacy and education, health and family welfare, sanitation and sanitation, environmental protection, awareness on social issues, women empowerment, rural development, skill development and self -employment, entrepreneurship development, civil education, disaster relief and rehabilitation etc.