Evaluate the role of talent-identification schemes like Khelo India in India's soft-power and nation-building strategy.

Launched in October 2017 by merging the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan, Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme and National Sports Talent Search Scheme, Khelo India pursues the twin goals of mass participation and sporting excellence [2]. Its revamp — an outlay of ₹36,441 crore for 2026-27 to 2030-31, nearly eight times the previous phase — makes it a strategic instrument, not merely a sports scheme [1].

Contribution to soft power

• Podium visibility: elite pathways through National and Khelo India Centres of Excellence, SAI Training Centres and accredited academies convert grassroots talent into international medallists, the currency of sporting prestige [1].
• Hosting credibility: a domestic talent pipeline underwrites India's declared ambition of hosting and excelling at the 2036 Games, articulated in the Khelo Bharat Niti (National Sports Policy) 2025 [4].
• Governance signal: the National Sports Governance Act, 2025, creating a National Sports Board and Sports Tribunal, aligns federations with the Olympic Charter — reassuring global bodies [3].

Contribution to nation-building

• Social inclusion: dedicated components for women, persons with disabilities and rural/indigenous sports widen access beyond metropolitan elites [2].
• Human capital: playfield development, community coaching and a national physical fitness drive for school children link sport to public health and youth productivity [2].
• Federal reach: district-level Khelo India Centres embed delivery in States, making sport a shared developmental agenda [1].

Limitations

• Funding is front-loaded on infrastructure; earlier phases carried a modest ₹3,790.50 crore outlay, and absorptive capacity at State level remains untested [2].
• Coaching quality, not stadiums, is the binding constraint — hence the emphasis on standardised, accredited coaching in the revamp [1].
• Medal-centric framing risks crowding out mass participation, the scheme's own first objective [2].

Khelo India is therefore a necessary but not sufficient instrument: it builds the pipeline, while governance reform and coaching depth determine outcomes. Judged on design, it merits approval; judged on delivery, the verdict awaits execution. If institutionalised through the 2025 governance framework, it can convert sporting achievement into both national cohesion and durable global goodwill.