Khelo India is the Centre’s flagship sports scheme, but the money it sends to Tamil Nadu is small beside what the state spends itself, and on several measures Tamil Nadu draws less than peer states. The official dashboards and Parliament answers show where.
The numbers
The Union sports ministry’s project dashboard lists five Khelo India infrastructure projects in Tamil Nadu, all completed. Rajasthan has 50, Uttar Pradesh 31, and Karnataka and Arunachal Pradesh 21 each, according to the Khelo India infrastructure dashboard as viewed in October 2026. Among large states, only West Bengal has fewer, with four; Gujarat and Odisha also have five.
The pattern repeats in smaller grants. Tamil Nadu’s Khelo India centres received ₹6.85 crore between 2022-23 and 2025-26, against ₹11.08 crore for Uttar Pradesh and ₹9.78 crore for Madhya Pradesh, according to the scheme dashboard statement of funds released. For comparison, the state’s own sports budget for 2024-25 gave ₹361.25 crore to the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) alone.
How Khelo India money moves
The ministry says repeatedly that it allocates Khelo India funds scheme-wise, not state-wise. In an answer of 9 February 2026, it gave the scheme’s national allocation and spending: ₹880 crore allocated in 2023-24 with ₹872.20 crore spent, ₹746.54 crore and ₹620.75 crore in 2024-25, and ₹700 crore allocated in 2025-26 with ₹628.91 crore spent by mid-January 2026. A December 2025 answer put the 2025-26 allocation at ₹1,000 crore, with ₹599.12 crore used; the two answers do not explain the difference, which may reflect a revised estimate.
Money reaches states through components: infrastructure grants for specific projects, small annual grants to Khelo India centres run by states, and scholarships for athletes at accredited academies and centres. States must propose projects, which the ministry considers case by case for completeness, technical feasibility and available funds.
| Year | Allocated (₹ cr) | Spent (₹ cr) |
|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 328.77 | 338.06 |
| 2021-22 | 869.00 | 764.29 |
| 2022-23 | 600.00 | 596.39 |
| 2023-24 | 880.00 | 872.20 |
| 2024-25 | 746.54 | 620.75 |
| 2025-26 (to 15 Jan 2026) | 700.00 | 628.91 |
Source: Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 1424, 9 February 2026 (national totals)
Tamil Nadu against its peers
| State | Infrastructure projects | Centre funds 2021-26 (₹ cr) | Khelo India centres | Athletes supported 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tamil Nadu | 5 | 6.85 | 38 | 173 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 31 | 11.08 | 80 | 186 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 18 | 9.78 | 49 | 114 |
| Maharashtra | 14 | 7.33 | 43 | 347 |
| Karnataka | 21 | 6.19 | 31 | 138 |
| Telangana | 7 | 5.07 | 32 | 59 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 19 | 4.15 | 26 | 49 |
| Gujarat | 5 | 3.55 | 33 | 65 |
| Haryana | 11 | 3.00 | 23 | 467 |
| Kerala | 8 | 2.09 | 24 | 108 |
Source: Khelo India infrastructure dashboard (October 2026); Khelo India centres funds statement, FY 2021-22 to 2025-26; Lok Sabha Unstarred Questions 545 (6 February 2024) and 3307 (16 December 2024)
On centre grants Tamil Nadu sits mid-table, and its money has been steady: ₹1.94 crore in 2022-23, ₹1.53 crore in 2023-24, ₹1.97 crore in 2024-25 and ₹1.41 crore released in 2025-26. Spread across 38 centres over four years, that is roughly ₹4.5 lakh per centre per year (₹6.85 crore divided by 38, divided by four). The state’s 2024-25 policy note counts 37 Khelo India district centres, one fewer than the February 2024 answer.
The infrastructure gap is older. In March 2020 a Lok Sabha answer showed Tamil Nadu with two projects sanctioned and eight proposals pending, while Uttar Pradesh had 25 sanctioned and 51 pending. Whatever happened to those eight proposals, the dashboard shows five projects in the state today.
Khelo India-supported athletes from Haryana in 2023-24, against 173 from Tamil Nadu and 347 from Maharashtra, in a December 2024 Lok Sabha answer; Tamil Nadu’s count rose from 101 in 2021-22.
Where Tamil Nadu does well
Athlete support numbers have grown faster in Tamil Nadu than in most states, from 101 in 2021-22 to 167 and then 173, while the national total slipped from 2,816 to 2,752. Results at the Khelo India Youth Games also put the state near the top: hosting the January 2024 edition, Tamil Nadu finished second with 38 gold, 21 silver and 39 bronze medals, 98 in all, among 5,630 athletes from 36 states and union territories, the state policy note for 2024-25 records. In Guwahati in 2020 it had won 76.
The state also used the scheme for upgrades. The 2024-25 policy note says the synthetic athletic track at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai was renovated under Khelo India, though it gives no cost.
It’s often said Tamil Nadu’s sporting success is built on central money.
The record shows The Centre’s Khelo India centre grants to Tamil Nadu came to ₹1.97 crore in 2024-25. The state’s 2024-25 policy note allocated ₹361.25 crore to SDAT. Even allowing for project grants and athlete scholarships that do not show in the centre statement, state money dominates.
The state’s own athlete money
Set against those central grants, the state’s own schemes are larger and more varied. The TN Champions Foundation, a state vehicle that pools sponsorship, had sanctioned ₹8.84 crore to 397 sportspersons by 2024-25, the policy note says, more than the Centre’s centre grants to the state over four years. SDAT also runs 27 sports hostels with 1,925 students, specialised academies with about 1,300 athletes and a learn-to-swim programme that reached 8,842 people.
The comparison matters for anyone judging where Tamil Nadu’s sporting results come from. Khelo India adds equipment, coaching support and scholarships at the margin; the base is state-funded.
Reading the numbers with care
These are different datasets on different dates. Project counts come from a live dashboard and cover all years; centre funds cover 2021-22 to 2025-26; centre numbers date from February 2024 and athlete counts from December 2024. A state with few projects may have proposed few, had them rejected, or built with its own money. The ministry’s answers do not give sanctioned values per state, so the table cannot show whether Tamil Nadu’s five projects were large or small.
What this means for you
- Young athletes in Tamil Nadu are more likely to be backed by SDAT schemes than by Khelo India, so check SDAT’s programmes first.
- Khelo India centres are run by the state; ask your district sports officer which local centre is funded and in which discipline.
- Athletes at accredited academies can be selected for Khelo India support, which is counted state by state.
- Project status for every Khelo India grant is public on the ministry’s infrastructure dashboard.
What to watch
Pending
Any new Khelo India infrastructure proposals from Tamil Nadu, which would appear on the ministry dashboard as ‘to be started’.
2026-27
The scheme’s allocation for the year, which the ministry reports in answers to Parliament.
Checked against official sources on 23 October 2026. Figures and rules change; confirm on the linked official pages before relying on them.
Sources
- Khelo India infrastructure projects dashboard, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
- Khelo India Centres: state-wise, financial year-wise funds released and utilised, FY 2021-22 to 2025-26, Khelo India dashboard
- Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 1424, Allocation and Progress of the Khelo India Scheme, 9 February 2026
- Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 1262, Khelo India programme, 8 December 2025
- Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 545, Funds to Khelo India Centre, 6 February 2024
- Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 3307, Scholarships under Khelo India Scheme, 16 December 2024
- Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 2325, Sports Infrastructure, 5 March 2020
- Policy Note 2024-25, Youth Welfare and Sports Development Department (Demand No. 49), Government of Tamil Nadu
