New Delhi, Feb 1 (IANS): In the Union budget presented in Parliament on Monday, the Central government allocated Rs.2,596.14 crore to sports budget for the next financial year 2021-22, less by Rs.230.78 crore -- or, 8.16 per cent -- allocated in the previous fiscal.

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has been allocated Rs.660.41 crore, which is an increase from the Rs.500 crore that was allocated in the last budget.

The Sports Ministry's flagship Khelo India, on the other hand, has had its allocation slashed to 657.71 crore from Rs 890.42 crore allocated in the 2020-21 budget.

Assistance to the National Sports Federations, however, has been increased by Rs.35 crore. This year's budget is Rs.280 crore while last year's was Rs.245 crore.

The year 2021 is an Olympic year due to the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Olympics was initially scheduled to be held from July 24 to August 9 last year but was postponed in March, 2020 to July 23 to August 8 this year.

The budget allocated for renovation and maintenance of 2010 Commonwealth Games stadia has been reduced by Rs.66 crore to Rs 30 crore for the next financial year.