Rs 6,801.30 crore released for sports development in last five years: Anurag Singh Thakur

New Delhi, Dec 21: ‘Sports’ being a State subject, the responsibility to make sports accessible to the masses at the village level rests primarily with the State/Union Territory Governments. The Central Government supplements their efforts. However, the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports runs the following schemes for the development of sports in the country, including at the village level:  (i) Khelo India Scheme; (ii) Assistance to National Sports Federations; (iii) Special Awards to Winners in International Sports Events and their Coaches; (iv) National Sports Awards; (v) Pension to Meritorious Sportspersons; (vi) Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay National Sports Welfare Fund; (vii) National Sports Development Fund; and (viii) Running Sports Training Centres through Sports Authority of India. Details of the above schemes are available in the public domain on the websites of this Ministry and the Sports Authority of India. Funds are allocated Scheme-wise, not State/UT-wise. During the last five years, a sum of Rs 7,072.28 crore was allocated and a sum of Rs 6,801.30 crore was released under the various sports development schemes of this Ministry. This information was given by Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports Anurag Thakur in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.