Delhi smog postpones Prime Minister's 'Khelo India' project: Report

New Delhi: Smog engulfing the National Capital has hit the government's 'Khelo India' project, leading to the postponement of the scheduled multi-sport event here, The Tribune reported on Wednesday.

Backed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the project is at the heart of government's initiatives to promote the culture of sports and fitness in India's youth, but amid conditions not conducive to sports activities and not expected to improved very soon, the event - tentatively scheduled for December - has been taken off the roster for now. 

According to the newspaper, Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has given his go-ahead to the Sports Authority of India's (SAI) suggestion to postpone the event due to the prevailing smog and foggy conditions.

The 'Sports for All' and 'Sports for Excellence' event was likely to held on December 21 and inaugurated by the PM himself. But reports suggest it will now be held in the month of January next year.

“Yes, we have postponed it due to weather conditions. We also anticipate trains getting delayed at that time due to fog. So it has been postponed to January end,” a source told The Tribune. 

The event was scheduled to include 16 disciplines.

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan (RGKA), the Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme (USIS) and the National Sports Talent Search Scheme (NSTSS) have been combined to form 'Khelo India', for which the Union Cabinet has approved a budget of Rs. 1,756 crore for a four-year period from 2017 to 2020.