Union Sports Minister Jitendra Singh, on Friday, revealed a plan, stressing spotting and nurturing of talents, to achieve his Ministry’s goal of making India an elite sporting nation.
Jitendra Singh said he wanted to see India among the top 10 sporting powers by the 2020 Olympics.
“The idea is to use Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA), spot talents and nurture them at the Centres of Excellence (CoEs),” he said.
Admitting that PYKKA had not performed to its potential, Jitendra Singh hoped that a revised PYKKA, under which the Central government would give each State some funds to create a sports complex in each block, would provide rural youth the facilities to play and excel.
“In the next three years, we should build an indoor stadium in every block. Nearly 6500 such complexes will be built across the country. It is a massive effort which will cost Rs. 11,000 cr.”
For talent spotting, the Minister said the government had been working on a scheme, named Identification and Nurturing Sports Talent (INSTAL), under which special schools for talented youngsters would be set up in each district.
