Promotion of Sports in Rural Areas

For inculcating sporting culture and broad-basing sports among youth of the country in rural areas, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has introduced a Centrally Sponsored Scheme titled Panchayat Yuva Kirda Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA), from 2008-09 which aims at creation/development of basic playfields in all village panchayats and block panchayats of the country in a phased manner over a period of 10 years and providing access to organized sports competitions at block, district, state and national levels.. This was stated by Shri Ajay Maken, Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs & Sports, in the Rajya Sabha today, in a written reply to a question by Shri Dilipbhai Pandya. Sports competitions are organized in various sports disciplines such as athletics, archery, badminton, boxing, hockey, gymnastics, judo, football, swimming, wrestling, volleyball, table tennis, cycling, kho-kho, kabaddi, etc., in terms of provisions of the Scheme of PYKKA.

The Minister further stated that schemes of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and the Sports Authority of India are equally applicable for sportspersons hailing from rural areas. National Sports Policy-2001, is already in existence, which, inter alia, provides for mass participation in sports and promotion of excellence in sports in the country including in rural areas. For realization of the aforesaid objectives mentioned in National Sports Policy 2001, while the Scheme of PYKKA takes care of the broad-basing of sports at the grassroots level, the identification and nurturing of the identified talent for promotion of excellence in sports including those from rural areas is done under the following Schemes of Sports Authority of India (SAI):

(i) National Sports Talent Context (NSTC) Scheme

(ii) Army Boys Sports Company (ABSC) Scheme

(iii) Sports Authority of India Training Centres (STC) Scheme

(iv) Special Area Games (SAG) Scheme

(v) Centres of Excellence (COE) Scheme

RM/RS – USQ 3873-RS