Mansukh Mandaviya: Khelo Bharat Niti 2025 to Power India’s Grassroots Sports Revolution

The Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Mansukh Mandaviya, recently stated that the government introduced the Khelo India Policy - 2025 on July 10, 2025, and intends to create a strong, inclusive, and performance-based sports ecosystem in the nation.

“The vision of the Niti is ‘Sports for Nation Building Harness the Power of Sports for Nation’s Holistic Development’. To realise this vision, the Niti focuses on several key objectives, the details of which are available in the public domain,” Dr. Mandaviya said in a reply to Rajya Sabha.

He stated that the policy lays a special stress on enhancing the domestic sports infrastructures at both urban and rural levels and early talent identification that can guarantee that more and fair access to sporting opportunities exists. To eliminate the rural-urban divide, the policy comes with the provisions of raising the number of basic training facilities, creating special sports infrastructure, and offering competitive platforms to athletes across all social segments of society, such as women, persons with disabilities, and those who are economically weaker.

It is also a policy of combining sports with school education, community participation, and promoting interaction among different stakeholders in order to increase their reach and participation. It also describes the investments in the modern sports infrastructure, the creation of the structured training systems, and the creation of the advanced training centers that would help to increase the overall quality of the athlete preparation.

Mandaviya also explained that sports is a state subject, and it is the major mandate of the governments of the respective states and union territories to promote and develop sports. These efforts are supplemented by the central government under different schemes and programs according to the National Sports Policy, which are executed under the established guidelines and monitoring systems. The effect and performance of such initiatives are examined after some time, based on the evaluation of the third party according to the evaluation rules of the department of expenditure.