Govt. renames Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan as 'Khelo India'

In what may irk the Congress Party, the BJP-led NDA Government has revised the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan (RGKA) scheme by merging it with Khelo India.

Khelo India scheme is based on Gujarat's model of Khel Mahakumbh under which the schools and colleges from different parts of the country participate in about 27 disciplines.

However, Union Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal ruled out any political intervention behind the decision, saying it is purely done with a view to create competitive environment throughout the country.

"It has nothing to do with politics. It is purely done to create competitive environment," Sonowal told ANI here.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports had earlier planned to launch this scheme on April 16 but non-availability of Prime Minister Narendra Modi propelled them to schedule a new date.

Two other sport projects launched under the Congress-led UPA regime namely Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme (USIS) and National Sports Talent Search Scheme (NSTSS) have been immersed under Khelo India.

The RGKA was originally launched by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and the then sports minister Jitendra Singh in February 2014 with an aim to construct sports complexes in each block of the country by 2020.