A new Delhi athlete stipend will provide Rs 2,000 a month to selected young athletes training at government sports centres and stadiums, after the Delhi Cabinet approved a grassroots support component under the Mukhyamantri Khel Protsahan Yojana on Thursday.
The new Grassroots Training Support Assistance component will cover athletes in the Under-14, Under-17, Under-19 and Under-21 categories. Assistance will be available to up to 25% of regularly enrolled trainees at each government sports centre or stadium.
The scheme will cap support at 100 athletes at an individual centre. That limit can rise to 150 athletes at larger stadiums, according to the details reported by the Times of India. The supplied announcement does not specify the names of the participating centres, the application process, or when payments will begin.
The new provision expands the existing Mukhyamantri Khel Protsahan Yojana, which offers higher levels of assistance to athletes at different stages of development. Top-ranked school-level athletes can receive up to Rs 5 lakh a year for coaching, equipment, competitions, nutrition and other training requirements.
Elite athletes representing Delhi and India at the highest level are eligible for assistance of up to Rs 20 lakh annually under the broader scheme. The new grassroots component is focused on athletes who are still training within the government sports-centre and stadium system and fall within the specified age groups.
The decision places financial assistance alongside the public facilities where many of the selected athletes train. However, the information available does not establish how the 25% selection will be made, whether athletes will be assessed by performance or need, or which department will administer the payments at each facility.
Sports minister Ashish Sood said Delhi had no shortage of sporting talent and that financial constraints should not prevent promising athletes from pursuing their sporting ambitions. His statement framed the monthly assistance as a way to address the costs faced by athletes at the grassroots stage.
The existing scheme’s coverage of coaching, equipment, competitions and nutrition indicates the range of expenses recognised by the Delhi government, while the new assistance is a fixed monthly payment. The Cabinet approval is the announced milestone; further details on eligibility verification, enrolment numbers and disbursement dates were not included in the report.
