Lok Sabha Question No. 2318 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-15
Subject: Special Area Games Scheme
Ministry: YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS
Asked by: Dr. Amol Ramsing Kolhe, Shri Mohite Patil Dhairyasheel Rajsinh, Smt. Supriya Sule, Shri Sanjay Dina Patil, Prof. Varsha Eknath Gaikwad, Shri Bhaskar Murlidhar Bhagare

## Government of India Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports Department of Sports

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2318 TO BE ANSWERED ON 15.12.2025

Special Area Games Scheme

## 2318  SHRI MOHITE PATIL DHAIRYASHEEL RAJSINH:

SHRI SANJAY DINA PATIL:

DR. AMOL RAMSING KOLHE:

PROF. VARSHA EKNATH GAIKWAD:

SMT. SUPRIYA SULE:

SHRI BHASKAR MURLIDHAR BHAGARE:

Will the Minister of YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government,  under  the  Special  Area  Games  (SAG) Scheme  of  the  Sports  Authority  of  India  (SAI)  has  identified  regionspecific  or  indigenous  sports  and  established  Centres  of  Excellence across the country to nurture local sporting talent;
- (b)  if  so,  the  details  of  the  existing  SAG  Centres  and  the  disciplines covered particularly those functioning in Maharashtra;
- (c) the measures taken by the Government to promote indigenous sports such as Kabaddi, Mallakhamb, Kushti and other traditional games in Maharashtra through financial assistance, infrastructure development, coaching support and their inclusion under Khelo India scheme;
- (d) whether the Government of Maharashtra has submitted proposals for setting  up  of  new  SAG  Centres  or  Regional  Sports  Academies  (RSA) dedicated to traditional sports along with the present status of these proposals; and

(e) the total funds allocated, released and utilised during the last five years under the SAG and Khelo India schemes for promoting indigenous and region-specific sports district-wise in Maharashtra?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF YOUTH AFFAIRS & SPORTS [DR. MANSUKH MANDAVIYA]

(a) to (b): The Special Area Games (SAG) Scheme was operational from 1986 and was later merged with the SAI Training Centre (STC) Scheme in 2018 -19 to ensure uniformity in the entitlements provided to athletes across different training schemes. Hence, No Special Area Games (SAG) Scheme is presently operational. The list of various disciplines being run under the STC Scheme is provided at Annexure-I.

(c) 'Sports'  being  a  State  Subjec t,  the  responsibility  of  promotion  of sports  rests  primarily  with  the  respective  State/UT  Governments. Central Government supplements efforts of the State/UT Governments. The 'Promotion of rural and indigenous/tribal games' sub -component of the Khelo India Scheme, is specifically dedicated to the development and promotion of rural and indigenous games in the country. Indigenous games like Mallakhamb, Kalaripayattu, Gatka, Thang-Ta, Yogasana and Silambam have been identified for promotion under this component and were made part of Khelo India Games.

As on date 05 Khelo India Centres have been notified in the State to promote indigenous sports in the state of Maharashtra. KICs facilitate training  for  willing  children,  provide  livelihood  to  the  Past  Champion Athletes as coaches and augment the utilization of existing infrastructure. The details of the KICs are provided at Annexure-II.

(d) No proposal has been received from the Government of Maharashtra for setting up of new SAG Centres or Regional Sports Academies (RSA).

(e) Funds are allocated and released Scheme-wise and not State-wise under  the  Khelo  India  Scheme  in  this  Ministry.  The  details  of  funds allocated and expenditure incurred under Khelo India Scheme, since its inception across the country, including in the State of Maharashtra are as under:

| Financial Year   |   Funds allocated |   Expenditure incurred |
|------------------|-------------------|------------------------|
| 2016-17          |            118.1  |                 118.1  |
| 2017-18          |            350    |                 346.99 |
| 2018-19          |            500.09 |                 342.24 |
| 2019-20          |            578    |                 575.52 |
| 2020-21          |            328.77 |                 338.06 |
| 2021-22          |            869    |                 764.29 |
| 2022-23          |            600    |                 596.39 |
| 2023-24          |            880    |                 872.2  |
| 2024-25          |            746.54 |                 620.75 |

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## ANNEXURE-I

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) to (b) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  2318  FOR  15.12.2025  ASKED  BY SHRI MOHITE PATIL DHAIRYASHEEL RAJSINH, SHRI SANJAY DINA PATIL, DR. AMOL RAMSING KOLHE, PROF. VARSHA EKNATH GAIKWAD, SMT. SUPRIYA SULE, AND SHRI BHASKAR MURLIDHAR BHAGARE REGARDING 'SPECIAL AREA GAMES SCHEME'.

## DETAILS OF VARIOUS DISCIPLINES BEING RUN UNDER THE STC SCHEME IN THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

|   SN | Discipline(s)   |   SN | Discipline(s)   | SN   | Discipline(s)   |
|------|-----------------|------|-----------------|------|-----------------|
|    1 | Archery         |   11 | Hockey          | 21   | Swimming        |
|    2 | Athletics       |   12 | Judo            | 22   | Table Tennis    |
|    3 | Badminton       |   13 | Kabaddi         | 23   | Taekwondo       |
|    4 | Basketball      |   14 | Karate          | 24   | Volleyball      |
|    5 | Boxing          |   15 | Kayak & Canoe   | 25   | Weightlifting   |
|    6 | Cycling         |   16 | Kho-Kho         | 26   | Wrestling       |
|    7 | Fencing         |   17 | Rowing          | 27   | Wushu           |
|    8 | Football        |   18 | Sepaktakraw     |      |                 |
|    9 | Gymnastics      |   19 | Shooting        |      |                 |
|   10 | Handball        |   20 | Softball        |      |                 |

## ANNEXURE-II

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (c)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  2318  FOR  15.12.2025  ASKED  BY SHRI MOHITE PATIL DHAIRYASHEEL RAJSINH, SHRI SANJAY DINA PATIL, DR. AMOL RAMSING KOLHE, PROF. VARSHA EKNATH GAIKWAD, SMT. SUPRIYA SULE, AND SHRI BHASKAR MURLIDHAR BHAGARE REGARDING 'SPECIAL AREA GAMES SCHEME'.

## KHELO INDIA CENTRES IN MAHARASHTRA

| Districts       | Name of the Centre                                                                 | Sports Discipline   |
|-----------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|
| Amravati        | RC Mumbai- Sri Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal                                      | Mallakhamb Thang-Ta |
| Beed            | District Sports Complex Executive Committee, Bid (Zilla KridaSankulSamitee)        | Kabaddi             |
| Mumbai Suburban | Sundesh Vidyalaaya, Vikhroli Yaluka Kurla Mumbai                                   | Kabaddi             |
| Sindhudurg      | District Sports Complex Executive Committee, Sindhudurg (Zilla KridaSankulSamitee) | Kabaddi             |
| Washim          | District Sports Complex Executive Committee, Washim                                | Kabaddi             |

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