India wants to be a sporting powerhouse. And the Union government’s flagship Khelo India scheme is supposed to help make that happen.
Seven years and thousands of crores later, the numbers raise a serious question. Since the scheme started, the Modi government has given over Rs 3,400 crore to states for sports infrastructure.
Now, here's where things get interesting – or concerning.
Gujarat received over Rs 606 crore for just five projects. Uttar Pradesh got Rs 500 crore for 30 projects. Tamil Nadu? Just Rs 29.5 crore since 2017 – that’s less than 1 percent of the total funds.
Out of the 29 athletes who represented India in track and field at the Paris Olympics last year, six were from Tamil Nadu – the highest from any state. In fact, Gujarat has received more funds than all of the southern states put together.
Meanwhile, some of India’s top sporting states, governed by parties other than the BJP, received a fraction of Gujarat or UP.
So what’s really going on? Let me explain.
Watch.
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