KHELO INDIA RISING TALENT IDENTIFICATION (KIRTI) PROGRAM

TAG: GS 2: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

THE CONTEXT: As the Paris Olympics draws near, the Government’s ambitious Khelo India Rising Talent Identification (KIRTI) program is set to get a fresh boost under the leadership of the Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports and Labour & Employment. 

EXPLANATION:

• The inauguration of Phase 2 of this initiative took place in New Delhi.
• The first phase, launched on March 12, 2024, in Chandigarh, set the groundwork for this ambitious project.

Expansion and Goals of Phase 2

• The project aims to conduct 20 lakh assessments in the fiscal year 2024-25.
• This will be achieved by involving all states and treating each district as a unit of assessment.
• This initiative aligns with the Prime Minister’s vision of making sports accessible to every child in India through mass participation.
• It ultimately aims for excellence through Khelo India’s structured programs.
• In the initial phase of KIRTI, significant progress was made with 3,62,683 registrations across 70 centers, resulting in nearly 51,000 assessments in 28 states and Union Territories.
• Maharashtra and Haryana had the highest number of assessments, 9168 and 4820, respectively, followed by Assam, with 4703 assessments.

Disciplines and Assessments

• The program evaluated aspiring athletes in 11 disciplines: Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Football, Hockey, Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Volleyball, Weightlifting, and Wrestling.
• Athletics (13804 assessments) and football (13483 assessments) saw the highest participation.
• KIRTI aims to conduct 20 lakh assessments nationwide throughout the year, using notified Talent Assessment Centres to identify talent.
• This large-scale scouting and assessment initiative is unprecedented in India and supports the nation’s goal to rank among the top 10 sports nations by 2036 and the top five by 2047.

Athlete-Centric Approach

• KIRTI’s athlete-centric program stands out for its transparent selection methodology, which leverages information technology.
• Data analytics, powered by Artificial Intelligence, predict the sporting potential of aspiring athletes.
• This methodology ensures that the selection process is fair and based on merit.

KIRTI Program:

• KIRTI (Khelo India Rising Talent Identification) aims to develop an integrated talent identification architecture based on modern ICT tools and global best practices.
• It aims to streamline the whole process of grassroots talent identification on a single platform.
• The roots of Project KIRTI are based on an athlete-centric approach, wherein the process of Talent Identification has been made more broad-based and accessible at every step.
• Project KIRTI, with its decentralized and pocket-based talent identification approach, will help achieve the twin objectives of the Khelo India Scheme, namely excellence in sports and mass participation in sports.

SOURCE: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2034000