Khelo India medal winners across all competitions will be eligible for government jobs, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur announced on Wednesday, March 6.
Thakur took to X (formerly Twitter) to share the update. He stated that the decision was taken keeping in mind Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of making sports a career option in the country.
"In keeping with our Hon'ble PM Shri Narendra Modi ji's vision of a robust sports ecosystem, nurturing talent at grassroots level and turning sports into a lucrative and viable career option, Khelo India Athletes will now be eligible for government jobs," he wrote.
The gold, silver, and bronze medalists across the four competitions - Khelo India Youth Games, Khelo India University Games, Khelo India Winter Games, and Khel India Para Games have been allowed to take up government jobs, as per the revised criteria.
"This groundbreaking step now extends eligibility to medal winners from the 𝗞𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗼 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀— 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵, 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀—to be eligible for government jobs. Additionally, games and events have been clearly defined to ensure inclusivity across various sports," Anurag Thakur's tweet added.
According to Anurag Thakur's tweet, The Department of Personnel & Training, in collaboration with the Department of Sports, and the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports “has made progressive revisions to the eligibility criteria for sportspersons seeking government jobs”.
"These revised rules mark a significant stride in supporting our athletes in making Bharat a sporting superpower," his tweet read.
4 Khelo India Games held between December 2023 & February 2024
The Khelo India University Games 2023 Ashtalakshmi was recently held in Assam, while Tamil Nadu hosted the recently concluded edition of the Khelo India Youth Games 2023. Moreover, the latest edition of the Khelo India Winter Games 2024 was held in Leh.
The first Khelo India Para Games, meanwhile, was held in New Delhi from December 10 to 17, 2023.