Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, is set to inaugurate the second phase of the Khelo India Rising Talent Identification (KIRTI) initiative on Friday in New Delhi. This ambitious project aims to revolutionize India’s approach to discovering and nurturing sports talent at the grassroots level.

KIRTI, envisioned as an integrated talent identification architecture, leverages modern ICT tools and global best practices. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports said that the initiative’s primary goal is to streamline the process of identifying promising athletes on a single, comprehensive platform.

With a target of conducting 20 lakh assessments in the 2024-25 period, the project seeks to onboard all states in this nationwide talent hunt. This second phase follows the successful launch of KIRTI’s first phase in Chandigarh on March 12th earlier this year.

The initial phase saw impressive participation, with 3,62,683 registrations across 70 centers. Aspiring athletes were evaluated in 11 disciplines: Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Football, Hockey, Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Volleyball, Weightlifting, and Wrestling.