STAFF REPORTER

Union Minister of Youth and Sports Kiren Rijiju today launched a nation-wide initiative of Fit India Youth Clubs to promote fitness among every citizen on the occasion of Independence Day. The Fit India Youth Club which is a part of the Fit India Movement envisioned by the Prime Minister, endeavours to harness the power of youth to create mass awareness about the importance of fitness. This initiative brings together fitness and voluntarism in a unique way.

Under this initiative, 75 lakh volunteers of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan and National Service Scheme, along with Scouts and Guides, National Cadet Corps and other youth organizations will come together to register as Fit India Youth Clubs in every block in the country, under the aegis of a district unit. Each member of the club will motivate people from the community to take up fitness activities of 30 to 60 minutes in his or her daily routine. Additionally, the clubs will organize and encourage schools and local bodies to organize one community fitness programme every quarter.

Speaking about the initiative, Youth and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju said, only a fit citizen can contribute adequately to his or her country and help fellow citizens in their times of need. He said, India is a country of 1.3 billion people, and there are 75 lakh youth volunteers already and this number will further go up to one crore very soon. He said, these one crore volunteers can motivate at least 30 crore Indians in every nook and corner of the country to take up fitness activities regularly.

The Ministry said that one of the first initiatives that will be taken up by the Fit India Youth Clubs is to popularise the Fit India Freedom Run, which began today and will continue till 2nd October this year. The Ministry said, it is a unique concept that allows participants to run at their pace and at their place and plan their own running routes. The run has already gathered momentum across the country.