Narendra Modi will meet a group of students and young people on the Khelo India Samvaad on National Sports Day 2026 as the event is on. It will be a platform for young Indians to express their aspirations, contribute ideas and reflect on the country's evolving sporting journey and will be conducted through video conferencing (MY Bharat).
The programme is intended to connect India's youth to the country's growing sports ecosystem. Sports are now a major ingredient in education, health, discipline and nation-building and efforts like Khelo India will encourage the young generation to get involved in sport and not just study.
As the programme discussed, the interaction will be held at 11 am and will be about young people's participation with India's sporting journey. Students and youth participants will be able to express their hopes and ideas as well as brainstorm to the youth how they can contribute to the larger picture of a developed India.
National Sports Day is celebrated every year in India in memory of the great hockey player Major Dhyan Chand; it is also important as there is a history of Indian sports. It is also a time to get sports like that of the modern day and the achievements of athletes, coaches and sports institutions.
The Khelo India initiative has been an important part of India's effort to identify and nurture sporting talent at the grassroots level. It aims to promote wider participation in sports and create opportunities for young athletes to develop their abilities. The programme has also increased the attention on sports infrastructure, competitions and talent development across different parts of the country.
In the coming interaction with PM Modi, we expect youth to play an important role in this process and we believe our youth role as this can be very much at the heart of that. India’s young people are a large pool of potential athletes, coaches, sports professionals and sports administrators. Young people being given the opportunity to contribute and give their perspective in the country’s sporting culture will be great for that.
The involvement of Mera Yuva Bharat, also known as MY Bharat, adds a youth-centered approach to the event. To enable youth to participate in the nation-building activities and provide young people with the knowledge needed to participate in such activities, the organisation is a part of our nation-building project. The Khelo India Samvaad is therefore built on two themes: youth participation and sports development.
For students, sports can have benefits that go beyond competition. Physical activities can foster teamwork, discipline, leadership and perseverance. Sporting experiences also can give young people confidence and a process for dealing with success and failure.
The government's increasing interest in sports has also coincided with India’s rise on the world sporting stage. Indian athletes have been winning more medals in athletics, wrestling, shooting, boxing, badminton and other sports and there is more and more public interest in India in sport beyond cricket.
Programmes like Khelo India are designed to strengthen that growth and create a much bigger ecosystem of participation at younger ages. Grassroots development is essential because the early recognition of talented athletes is crucial to the development of them as they have more time and resources to develop skills.
The Khelo India Samvaad also gives young people an opportunity to discuss how they are challenged. Training facilities, coaching, equipment, competitions and opportunities to pursue sports alongside education. As the policymakers and young people should be in conversation with each other, such issues will be brought to a wider public discussion.
The youth-led Viksit Bharat of the event reflects this broader vision of India’s growth which will require active participation from younger people. Sports can be part of that vision as well as promoting healthy lifestyles and career opportunities for people who work in coaching, sports science, fitness, management and administration.
The interaction will also raise the question of access to sports for young Indians on National Sports Day 2026. And it reinforces the point that the best sporting success starts at the grassroots level.
The Khelo India Samvaad with Prime Minister Modi is therefore not only the time students get to meet Modi. It is an opportunity to talk about aspirations, challenges and ideas that we have of India’s sporting future. With youth at the centre of the programme, the programme is expected to make students see themselves as active participants in the country’s sporting and development process.
It will be noted that the future programme will also be about youth engagement, fitness and sports as the key elements of India's vision. For students and young sports fans in the country, the interaction might be to encourage all to pursue their sporting aspirations (and hence to develop a more inclusive sporting culture) and in that way to do so to develop a better future.
