The Sports Authority of India has released a total of Rs 7.22 crore as an Out of Pocket Allowance (OPA) for 2,509 Khelo India Athletes (KIAs) across 21 disciplines, including para, for the months of January to March 2022, the Union Sports Ministry stated.

A financial assistance of Rs 6.28 lakh, including an OPA of Rs 1.20 lakh, is allocated for each residential athlete training at the accredited academies as per the annual Khelo India scholarship scheme. 

The Out of Pocket Allowance is transferred directly to the athlete's bank account, whereas the rest of the amount is spent on the athlete's training, fooding, lodging and education at the Khelo India Academy where the athlete trains.

It also includes expenses towards travel to hometown, diet charges while at home and other miscellaneous expenses incurred by the athletes. The funding has been done as per the Khelo India Talent Development (KITD) Scheme.