Mumbai, July 19: With the Paris Olympics upon us, the government's ambitious Khelo India Rising Talent Identification (KIRTI) programme will shift to extra gear when the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Mansukhbhai Mandaviya, inaugurates phase 2 of the initiative in New Delhi on Friday. The first phase of KIRTI was launched by the previous Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, in Chandigarh on March 12 this year. KIRTI aims to conduct 20 lakh assessments across the country throughout the year to identify talent through notified Talent Assessment Centres. Indian Sailor Vishnu Sarvanan Opens Up on Father’s Role in His Career, Sets Goal for Paris Olympics 2024 (Watch Video).

A scouting and assessment programme of this scale is a first in India and comes at a time when the nation wants to become a top 10 sports nation in the world by 2036 and among the top five by 2047. KIRTI's athlete-centric programme is conspicuous by its transparent selection methodology based on Information Technology. Data analytics based on Artificial Intelligence are being used to predict the sporting acumen of an aspiring athlete.

In its first phase, out of 3,62,683 registrations across 70 centres, close to 51,000 assessments in 28 states and Union Territories have been made. Maharashtra and Haryana, two states that have always done well in Khelo India meets, have had the maximum number of assessments - 9168 and 4820 -- respectively. Assam is third, with 4703 assessments.

Evaluation of aspiring athletes has happened in 11 disciplines - Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Football, Hockey, Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Volleyball, Weightlifting and Wrestling. Maximum assessments have happened in athletics (13804) and football (13483). Paris Olympics 2024: Reetika Hooda Struggles To Get Visa for Coach, Awaits IOA Recommendation Letter.

Mandaviya will lay emphasis on the project that aims to achieve 20 lakh assessment in FY 2024-25 by onboarding all states and treating the district as a unit of assessment. This is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to take sports to every child in the country through mass participation and ultimately achieve excellence through Khelo India's structured pyramidal programmes.

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