From The Grassroots
With India bidding for the 2036 Olympics, where do Grassroots Sports stand?
The ASER 2024 survey, conducted across nearly 18,000 villages in 605 districts, gathered data from 15,728 schools, offering a comprehensive look at the current state of grassroots sports in India.

As India takes bold strides toward bidding for the 2036 Olympics, the nation’s sporting ambitions are higher than ever.
But while elite sports garner attention, how strong is the foundation at the grassroots level?
The latest Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2024 provides crucial insights into the state of rural sports infrastructure in India—an area often overlooked in mainstream discussions.
ASER’s widely cited data on foundational learning typically dominates headlines, but the survey also collects information on key RTE indicators in terms of school infrastructure, since 2018 school physical education facilities have also been added
The ASER 2024 survey, conducted across nearly 18,000 villages in 605 districts, gathered data from 15,728 schools, offering a comprehensive look at the current state of grassroots sports in India.
This article examines key findings from ASER 2024, reviews existing policies aimed at promoting sports, and concludes with recommendations to strengthen grassroots sports—because building world-class athletes starts with solid groundwork.
Sports in Rural Primary Schools
One of the most notable findings in ASER 2024 is the increasing recognition of physical education (PE) in schools.
Nationally, 85% of schools now allocate a weekly PE class for all primary grades, a significant rise from 76.6% in ASER 2022.
However, some states still lag behind, with Meghalaya (62%), Arunachal Pradesh (49.7%), and Nagaland (34.3%) reporting the lowest figures.
The availability of PE teachers is another crucial indicator.
ASER 2024 categorizes them into two groups: dedicated PE teachers and other subject teachers handling PE classes.
Nationally, 76.1% of schools reported having a PE teacher, up from 72.5% in ASER 2018.
However, only 16.5% had a dedicated PE teacher, showing no improvement from previous years.
In contrast, 59.6% relied on other subject teachers to fill this role, and 23.9% of schools had no PE teacher at all.
States like Sikkim (53%) and Rajasthan (51.7%) had the highest proportion of dedicated PE teachers, whereas Himachal Pradesh reported a mere 0.4%.
Meanwhile, the use of other subject teachers as PE instructors was highest in Himachal Pradesh (85.3%) and Uttarakhand (80.9%).
Schools without PE Teachers:
- Dropped from 27.5% in ASER 2018 to 23.9% in ASER 2024
- ASER 2022 recorded the highest at 29%
- Highest proportions of schools with no PE teachers: Nagaland (73.4%), Arunachal Pradesh (65.3%), Meghalaya (49.6%)
- Improvement from ASER 2018: Nagaland (80.1%), Arunachal Pradesh (71.6%), Meghalaya (77.4%)
Despite these challenges, there has been progress in the availability of playgrounds in schools.
ASER 2024 recorded that 69% of schools had playgrounds, an improvement from 66.5% in ASER 2018. Similarly, access to sports equipment has seen a remarkable increase.
In 2024, 82.4% of schools had sports equipment, a major jump from 62.5% in 2018. ASER 2024 findings indicate schools in 15 states and 1 UT have sports equipment in more than 80% of all schools. Meghalaya with 42.6% is an outlier but this is an improvement from
2018, where this figure was 19.7%.This improvement reflects the success of government initiatives, particularly the sports grants introduced under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
Policies on Promoting Sports in Rural Schools
ASER 2024 data on sports infrastructure shows improvements from previous rounds, but some statistics stand out—for instance, the low percentage of dedicated sports teachers shows how the curriculum is still prioritized over play.
However, several policies have challenged this false binary and introduced key measures.
After the Rio Olympics in 2016, the Indian government made changes to sports policies to encourage fitness and promote grassroots sports among school-going children. The following sections trace these policies and suggest further steps.
Khelo India
In 2017, the Government of India (GoI) launched Khelo India – Let’s Play India to revive India’s sporting culture at the grassroots level.
The initiative focused on improving sports infrastructure and academies. The first edition, Khelo India School Games (KISG), was held in 2018, with schoolchildren from every state competing in 16 sports disciplines.
In 2019, KISG was renamed Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG), an annual national-level grassroots event for under-17 school students and under-21 college students.
KIYG announced that “every year, 1,000 kids would receive an annual scholarship of ₹5 lakh (US$5,900) for eight years to prepare for international sporting events”.
In 2020, GoI launched Khelo India State Centres of Excellence (KISCE) to provide specialized training in three sports disciplines.
Over 1,000 KISCEs have been set up across India, with 32 officially notified by 2024. Each centre is supposed to provide specialized training in 3 sporting disciples.
Sports in School Education
In 2019, under Samagra Shiksha, the Ministry of Education introduced an annual grant for sports equipment in government schools for indoor and outdoor games:
● ₹5,000 for primary schools
● ₹10,000 for upper primary schools
● Up to ₹25,000 for secondary and senior secondary schools
Additionally, schools where at least two students win medals in the Khelo India National School Games receive an extra ₹25,000.
This links school sports to the Khelo India movement, aiming to revive India’s sporting culture while identifying and nurturing talent.
National Education Policy (NEP) 2020
NEP 2020 gives special emphasis to sports, treating it as part of the curriculum rather than an extracurricular activity. Sports performance is now included in academic grading.
By removing the separation between curricular and extracurricular activities, NEP 2020 recognizes sports as equally important as any subject.
National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2023
The National Curriculum Framework 2023 builds on NEP 2020 and strengthens the role of sports in education, establishing it as a core curricular area with learning standards, pedagogies, and assessments.
Its principles include mandatory Physical Education classes at all stages, adequate resources for sports, equal importance to Physical Education as a subject, and encouraging healthy competition for personal growth.
These policies reiterate evidence from many scientific papers establishing that physical education and sports go hand in hand with education, which directly influences a child’s future physical, personality, and academic development.
Overall, the policies collectively highlight noteworthy efforts by the government to integrate sports into education, promote competitive sports, and develop young sporting talent.
Recommendations to strengthen grassroots sports
The slew of policy changes by the central government since 2017 to strengthen grassroots sports is indeed commendable.
The attempt ostensibly is to make it a seamless bottom-up approach i.e. to promote grassroots sports from the primary school level upwards, by middle and secondary stages the youth get an opportunity to participate in Khelo India Youth Games.
To strengthen the government initiatives so far, the following actions can make the endeavour more effective:
● ASER 2024 indicates an overall improvement in school infrastructure and facilities, but more needs to be done. Most schools do not have ‘dedicated PE teachers’. There is a strong case for hiring qualified PE teachers in rural primary schools. ASER 2024 also noted the availability of sports equipment in a high proportion of primary schools, but effective use of this equipment also needs to be ensured.
● GoI should collate all the policies that have been formulated in the last 7 years to promote grassroots sports and publish a common document. This document should be widely disseminated amongst all levels of administrators right down to cluster level, school teachers, elected panchayat leaders, parents, guardians and of course the main beneficiaries - school children and youth.
● The 1000 KISCEs have the potential to be a game changer, but the details of these centres should also be disseminated including details like the location of the KISCE, facilities they offer, and the eligibility criteria to join a centre.
● Creation of a dedicated cadre of ‘sporting talent spotters’ at the block level might help in better usage of the KISCEs.
● Promotion of grassroots sports should not just be restricted to within schools. Grassroots sports at the community level should be seriously considered. A cadre of sports facilitators in the village might prove to be useful. NGOs can be brought in to support community engagement and the creation of village-level ‘sports facilitators’.
● The role of the Panchayat head and members, parents, guardians and village elders in the promotion of grassroots should not be ignored.
With just nine years to go until the 2036 Olympics, India must sharpen its focus on grassroots sports.
If the country succeeds in its Olympic bid, it won’t just need world-class stadiums—it will need world-class athletes. Strengthening the sports culture from the ground up is not just an option; it is a necessity.
The journey to Olympic glory begins in the playgrounds of rural India. The question is: will India seize this moment to nurture its future champions?
About the author: Ranajit Bhattacharyya, a passionate sports enthusiast, has been with Pratham for over two decades and has been associated with ASER since its inception.