How successful was Kiren Rijiju as Minister of Sports?
At the time of writing this piece, Kiren Rijijus Twitter profile still read Union of State for AYUSH, Youth Affairs and Sports (Independent Charge). MoS Minority Affairs.  Just 16 days before the Tokyo Olympics, the BJP MP from Arunachal West, who even a week ago oversaw Indias travel to Japan amid COVID restrictions, was raised to the rank of Minister of the Law Ministry and Justice. He served as the Secretary of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs and Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Ayush Portfolios. Kiren Rijijus Twitter handle on Wednesday nights  Rijiju assumed the role of the Ministry of Sports after the BJP government returned to office for its second term after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Over the past two years, his name has been associated with numerous initiatives in Indian sports as well as the Fit India movement, a program launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August 2019 to make fitness an integral part of our daily lives. A sports and fitness enthusiast himself, Rijiju was an eloquent supporter of Indian sports and worked for the goal of earning double-digit medals at the Tokyo Olympics. He followed the progress of Indian athletes very closely and made sure to be the first to wish them on their achievements. Always active on social media, Rijiju not only promoted content related to the daily happenings of Indian sports but also made sure to connect with those who asked him for help. India would cherish his contribution as Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs. Heres a look at some of the key steps the outgoing minister has taken. Rewards galore The year 2019 was significant for Indian sports, and when Rijiju was appointed to his office, he saw many of Indias promising prospects unleash their greatest achievements. PV Sindhu became the first Indian to win the Badminton World Championships, G Sathiyan became the first Indian to break into the top 25 of the world table tennis rankings, Deepak Punia was named the best junior wrestler in the world in 2019 by United World Wrestling, the shooting team went on a gold spree at the ISSF World Cups, and the list went on. In no time, Rijiju started honoring each achiever with rewards that led to a boost in their morale. Rijiju handed Sindhu a check for Rs 10 lakh for winning a gold medal at the BWF World Championships. The minister then announced Rs 7 lakh as a cash prize for world silver medalist Deepak Punia while all other four wrestling bronze medalists were awarded Rs 4 lakh. The Unions Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju tweeted: Honoured PV Sindhu who made history and made India proud by winning the World Badminton Championship for the first time! My best wishes to her in her pursuit of making India more glorious to give. pic.twitter.com/17DeUEBirA ANI (@ANI) August 27, 2019  The ministry also took the initiative to congratulate the medal winners of the 2019 South Asian Games in Nepal. India topped the table, winning 312 medals, including 174 gold, 93 silver and 45 bronze. On their return, Rijiju announced a cash reward of Rs 1.5 lakh for the 174 gold medal winners, the silver and bronze winners received Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50,000 respectively. In 2020, Rijiju announced a significant increase in prize money for the National Sports and Adventure Awards. The prize money for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award was increased to a whopping Rs 25 lakh from the previous amount of Rs 7.5 lakh while the Arjuna Award was increased to Rs 15 lakh from Rs 5 lakh. The Dhronacharya (Lifetime) winners, who were previously awarded Rs 5 lakh, were increased to Rs 15 lakh, while Dhronacharya (Regular) winners were awarded Rs 10 lakh instead of Rs 5 lakh. Increase sports budget sports Kiren Rijiju, who was appointed in 2019, played a vital role in investing a large amount in the sports budget. During his first year in office as Sports Minister, the government allocated Rs 2826.92 crore to the sports budget in 2020-21, which was Rs 50 crore from the revised estimates of 2019-20. The government gave a significant increase of Rs 291.42 crore to its flagship Khelo India program for the development of sports at the grassroots and youth levels. More impact through TOPS The Indian governments flagship program, Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS), launched in 2014, has seen significant success in India over the past two years as it has been fully exploited. Today, 126 athletes/teams from India are part of the TOPS program, and a majority of them have already qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in disciplines such as archery, boxing, wrestling, athletics, table tennis, hockey and para sports. Rijiju arranged timely meetings for TOPS, prioritizing Indias prospects for the Olympics, and was actively involved in the decision-making process regarding the allocation of the facility to the players. Neeraj Chopra, one of the brightest prospects at the Tokyo Olympics, is a TOPS athlete  Indian athletes have talked about how the TOPS scheme has helped them excel. Through the program, athletes receive customized training under renowned coaches at institutions with world-class facilities, participate in international competitions and purchase high-quality equipment. The effectiveness of the scheme has led to several medal-winning prospects at the Tokyo Olympics such as javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, wrestler Vinesh Phogat, weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, among others. With Mr. Rijiju at the helm, he had urged the business community in India and leading public sector units to come forward and contribute to the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) as part of their corporate social responsibility. Its primary purpose was to meet the needs and demands of elite athletes supported by TOPS. Better reach of the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay National Welfare Fund Since his appointment, Kiren Rijiju has taken note of improving financial support under the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay National Welfare Fund for Sportspersons. It was launched in 1982 to help outstanding athletes of yesteryear who lived in poor conditions and brought glory to sport. In 2020, Rijiju announced financial aid of Rs 5 lakh each to boxer Sunil Chauhan and his brother Neeraj Chauhan, who is an archer, given the hardship they faced after their father lost his job in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ministry also envisioned the implementation of the Scheme of Sports Fund for Pension to Meritorious Sportspersons for additional support with a lifetime pension of between Rs 12,000 and Rs 20,000 after they retire from active sports careers. Expansion of the Khelo India Program The Khelo India program, which was launched in 2018 to revitalize the sports culture in India at the grassroots level, soared to new heights under Rijiju. The ministry gave a new direction to the program through the establishment of the Khelo India State Centers of Excellence (KISCE). Last December, Rijiju virtually inaugurated eight KISCEs in Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala, Manipur, Mizoram, Odisha, Telangana and Nagaland. In 2020, Rijiju also introduced the Khelo India Winter Games in two venues: Leh and Jammu & Kashmir. Events include snow skiing, snow rugby, snow ice stock, snow baseball, snow mountaineering, snowshoeing, ice hockey, figure skating, and ice skating. In order to give more attention to traditional sports, the ministry also approved the inclusion of four indigenous sports as part of the 2021 Khelo India Youth Games, which was scheduled for 2021 in Haryana. The four new games are, Gatka, Kalaripayattu, Thang-Ta and Mallakhamba. Stretching out his arms on social media Kiren Rijiju took the responsibility of reaching out to people through his social media quite seriously. He had once told PTI: People should think what the Minister of Sport is doing, he responds to this kind of amateur talk, but I had to show sections that have no understanding of sport that I am hands-on with Indian sports and I am there for the athletes. I will give every chance to all potentials, so I had to show that.  Karnataka: Srinivasa Gowda from Mudbidri, Mangaluru ran 142.5 meters in 13.62 seconds during a buffalo race (Kambala) in a paddy field on February 1 in Kadri. He says: People compare me to Usain Bolt. He is a world champion, I run alone in a muddy rice field. pic.twitter.com/tjq03M5m0C ANI (@ANI) February 15, 2020