National Khelo India School Games (KISG) -- including Basketball -- to begin in New Delhi on Wednesday

Less than five months after he took office as India's new sports minister, former Olympian (shooting) Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore will oversee his pet project - Khelo India - come into light. The flagship Khelo India School Games (KISG), a nationwide gathering of school-going athletes participating in sixteen sporting disciplines, will be held in New Delhi from January 1 - February 8, 2018. The KISG will be launched on Wednesday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Indira Gandhi Stadium.

The Khelo India programme has been introduced to revive the sports culture in the country at the grassroots level. Organised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the Games will assist in scouting youth (under 17) talent in various disciplines by a High-Powered Committee. The plan is to provide the identified talents with annual financial assistance of Rs. 5 lakh per annum for 8 years.

At the first KISG, under-17 athletes have been invited to participate across in Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Football, Gymnastics, Hockey, Judo, Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Shooting, Swimming, Volleyball, Weightlifting, and Wrestling. 199 gold medals, 199 silver medals and 275 bronze medals are at stake at the Games.

The Basketball tournament of KISG will be held at the Stadium's KD Jadhav Indoor Hall from February 5-8. The tournament, and many other sporting events, will be broadcast live on Star Sports.

While there is imbalance in the scouting and grooming of young basketball players from around India, hopefully this tournament can bring some new faces into the spotlight and eventually help boost the national squads.

BIPA president Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is one of nine new ministers in cabinet reshuffle

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat grew up around basketball, playing the game at the Inter-University and National stage in his youth. As he became a prominent politician in the country, he continued to have close ties to the game and this year was officially named as the President of the Basketball India Players Association (BIPA).

Now, the former baller is in the news again: Shekawat was among the nine new faces that took oath on Sunday during the third reshuffle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new cabinet. A technology-savvy farmer, Shekhawat has been made the Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Shekhawat is a Lok Sabha MP for the BJP from Jodhpur, Rajasthan. He is a Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance and Chairperson of the Fellowship Committee. Apart from being the BIPA president, he is also currently is a Member of the All India Council of Sports.

The BIPA was officially launched earlier this year, uniting several Indian basketball legends with the mission to promote the game, support former players, and start a nationwide school league in India.

Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive to join Barack Obama in trip to India

On Sunday, US President Barack Obama will land in India for a historic three-day trip, becoming the first American president to attend India's Republic Day parade in New Delhi. In the process, he will also become the first sitting US president to make two official visits to India. Aside from being the special guest on the parade on January 26, Obama is set to hold meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, help to warm diplomatic ties between two of the world's largest democracies, take part in a bilateral radio show, and even visit the Taj Mahal in Agra.

But that's not all: Obama is set to be joined by several CEOs from top US companies to India, including Vivek Ranadive, the India-born CEO of TIBCO and the majority owner of the Sacramento Kings.

This is going to be Ranadive's second trip since becoming a majority NBA owner: Ranadive came to India in early December with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and former NBA star Vlade Divac to attend events of the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme and charity programmes in his former hometown, Mumbai. Ranadive has been hoping to gain another audience with Modi since the two met during Modi's trip to New York in September; in an interview with me before his last visit to India, Ranadive mentioned that he was interested in discussing future projects - such as readying an NBA ready arena for India - with the Indian prime minister.

According to Forbes, the delegation of business chiefs visiting India with President Obama include Ajay Banga of Mastercard, Dave Cote of Honeywell, Bob Iger of Disney, Indra Nooyi of Pepsi, Arne Sorenson of Marriott, and Ranadive.

Via Forbes.com

But the presence of the corporate captains the White House hustled to recruit for the mission indicates the economic stakes. Warming diplomatic ties between the world’s oldest democracy and its largest are encouraging American companies seeking expanded access to India’s $2 trillion economy.
Modi is pushing to make his country friendlier to foreign investment with new incentives and regulatory reforms. He unveiled a “Make in India” campaign in September aimed at promoting the country as a manufacturing haven. And the US and India are chasing a five-fold increase in bilateral trade, to $500 billion, by 2020.

It's obviously encouraging to see improving relations between India and the USA, and having top US businessmen added to the trip will add to India's growing prestige as a business and investment destination. Ranadive may be visiting in official capacity as TIBCO CEO, but of course, he'll probably use this opportunity to pitch the growth of a future relationship between India, the NBA, and the Sacramento Kings.

Mega Sports Summit in Mumbai next week

Aiming to create "a sports revolution in the country", sports and entertainment company SE TransStadia will be organizing a massive sports summit, the biggest of its kind in India, in Mumbai, from March 24-25. Amongst the several political and sport-related attendees from around the world will include members of the management board of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs.

Hey, I always knew the Spurs have an eye for great foreign players - Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Tim Duncan isn't exactly American, either (Virgin Islands, actually). Looking for the next big thing by making contacts in India already?

From The Hindu:

Talking about the initiative, Udit Sheth, MD and CEO of TransStadia says “Sport has ceased to be a vocational activity and has emerged as a billion dollar industry. We aim at bringing together a potpourri of global and Indian sports celebrities and administrators, under one roof to come up with ideas to transform Indian sports.”
He adds, "There is tremendous change in the way we look at sports in India. It is on par with any other industry. Innovative sports development events such as the IPL have clearly put sports in a pole position. Unfortunately, Indian sports is divided and fragmented and lacks collective thinking. We need to chart a new path and aim to do that by bringing in the best of talent in sports administration, government, people connected to sports infrastructure and the media on a single platform," says Sheth.

Aside from the Spurs management, other attendees will include Gujrat Chief Minister and World Class Choot Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ashok Chavan, President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Suresh Kalmadi, Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden, and representatives from the English Premier League.