The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs & Sports, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal has said that the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports was implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme namely, Panchayat Yuva Krida aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA) Scheme for the promotion of sports in rural areas.
The Ministry also aimed to create basic sports infrastructure in village and block panchayats and for providing central assistance to States/UTs for holding annual sports competitions viz. Rural, Women and North East Games at block, district, state and national levels from 2008-09 to 2013-14.
The PYKKA Scheme was restructured as Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan (RGKA) w.e.f. 01.04.2014.
He said, the RGKA Scheme provides for grant of funds to States/UTs for construction of a sports complex in each block of the country both for outdoor and indoor sports disciplines and also for holding the following annual sports competitions at Games at block, district, state and national levels:
- Rural Sports Competitions
- Sports Competitions exclusively for Women
- North East Games
- Sports Competitions for Left Wing Extremism (LWE) Affected Areas
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday the Minister said, the RGKA (as erstwhile PYKKA), provides for release of funds to States/UTs, including the State of Uttar Pradesh, for conduct of annual sports competitions as per the norms laid down in the Scheme. However, village and block panchayat-wise details are not maintained in the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports.
