Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Thakur will virtually interact with Sports Ministers of States and Union Territories across the country today to discuss the further promotion of sports in the country. Following the major success of the Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo, Mr Thakur would know from the States and UTs the ways forward and how they would contribute in the mission to make India a top sporting nation. He will be joined by Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Nisith Pramanik.

Government's flagship programs, Khelo India and Fit India, will remain an integral part of the interaction.

Sports is a state subject and the overall motive of the interaction would be to urge them to organize sporting events across rural and urban areas for able-bodied and para-athletes as well as play a key role in the identification of talents at grassroots level. The promotion of school level sports and support to the School Games Federation of India will be another key point of discussion. The States and UTs would also be requested to form a pool of cash awards for the athletes where both the Central and the State Governments can accumulate the funds.