The Khelo India Programme — What It Provides for District Sports Infrastructure

Understanding the Khelo India Programme's requirements and building them into the DPR from the start is both a technical and a strategic investment — in the facility's eligibility for national programme support, and in its long-term usefulness to the community it serves.

Overview of the Khelo India Programme

The Khelo India Programme, launched by the Government of India in 2017-18 under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, is a comprehensive national initiative for sports development. It operates across five strategic pillars: mass participation in community and school sports; competitive excellence through talent identification; infrastructure creation through construction and upgrade of facilities; sports for development and wellness; and sports economy development through employment and commercialisation.

For state governments, district administrations, and implementing agencies, the programme provides both a policy framework and a set of financial instruments for developing sports infrastructure at grassroots level. Understanding how the programme works — and what it requires from facilities seeking recognition under it — is relevant to anyone involved in planning, designing, or commissioning sports infrastructure at the district level.

The Two Infrastructure-Relevant Schemes

The Khelo India State Centre of Excellence (KISCE) scheme supports the development of high-performance training centres at the state level, providing advanced facilities for identified athletes pursuing national and international competition standards.

The Khelo India Infrastructure Development Scheme (KIIDS) provides financial and technical support for the construction of multi-sport complexes at district headquarter levels across India. This is the scheme most directly relevant to Tier-2 and Tier-3 town infrastructure development.

SAI Technical Guidelines

The Sports Authority of India has issued detailed technical guidelines for facility construction at various levels under the Khelo India framework. These guidelines prescribe minimum standards for court dimensions, playing surface specifications, lighting levels, player support facilities, and support infrastructure across every recognised sport discipline.

A facility must meet SAI's technical guidelines to be eligible for Khelo India recognition. This eligibility requirement determines whether the facility can host national programme athletes, access Khelo India coaching support, and be included in the structured competition calendar that gives the programme its talent development impact.

The relevant international federation standards — BWF for badminton, FIBA for basketball, FIVB for volleyball, FIFA for football, FINA for swimming, IAAF for athletics, and others — are embedded within SAI's guidelines for each discipline. A facility that meets its relevant federation standard will meet SAI's requirements for that discipline.

AP Sports Policy 2023 Context

The Government of Andhra Pradesh's Sports Policy 2023 articulates a vision for the state to emerge as one of India's top sporting states. It mandates that each of AP's 26 districts must have at least one multi-sport complex offering a minimum of five distinct sports disciplines, adequate indoor facilities, and a 25-metre swimming pool.

AP Vision 2047 further identifies sports and recreation infrastructure as a key component of quality-of-life investment — recognising that the development of sporting talent and the provision of healthy recreation options are integral to the state's broader development ambitions.

What Eligibility Requires in Practice

For a facility to be eligible for Khelo India programme recognition and potential funding support, the DPR and design must demonstrate compliance with SAI's technical guidelines from the outset. This means specifying surfaces, lighting, ceiling heights, court dimensions, player support infrastructure, and changing facilities to the standards SAI requires for the disciplines the facility will offer.

This requirement has a direct implication for DPR preparation: the document must explicitly reference the relevant SAI guidelines and federation standards for each facility, and demonstrate compliance through the design drawings and technical specifications.

A facility designed to generic or approximate standards — without explicit reference to SAI guidelines and federation specifications — cannot claim Khelo India eligibility regardless of the capital invested in its construction.

Planning for Operational Viability

Beyond construction standards, Khelo India recognition requires that facilities develop structured coaching programmes, a competition calendar, and talent identification processes. These operational elements should be considered during the planning stage — not as an afterthought after construction is complete.

A facility designed with appropriate coach observation areas, athlete support spaces, timing and results infrastructure, and adequate changing and spectator provision will be operationally ready to host structured programmes from day one. These design considerations are inexpensive to include at the DPR stage and expensive to retrofit after construction.

Conclusion

The Khelo India Programme represents a sustained national commitment to district-level sports infrastructure development. For implementing agencies and project owners planning sports facilities, understanding the programme's requirements and building them into the DPR from the start is both a technical and a strategic investment — in the facility's eligibility for national programme support, and in its long-term usefulness to the community it serves.