Why in News? Former world number one archer Deepika Kumari has been re-inducted into the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) core group ahead of the Paris Games.

What is TOPS? The TOPS was launched by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in 2014 (and revamped in 2018). It aims to improve India’s performance at the Olympics and Paralympics and it receives funding from the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) and the Khelo India scheme. A committee called the TOPS Elite Athletes’ Identification Committee was constituted to shortlist worthy candidates and provide targeted training. This Committee formed the first Mission Olympic Cell (MOC). The MOC, which meets on a weekly basis, has a selection and review committee to shortlist TOPS athletes based on their performance.

How Target Olympic Podium Scheme Benefits Indian Athletes?  Under this scheme, athletes and sportspersons will get customised training from top coaches at modern and well-equipped sports facilities and institutions. They are also given assistance for buying sport-specific equipment and are provided with support staff such as physiotherapists, sports psychologists, physical trainers, etc. Additionally, the selected athletes and sportspersons are also given an out-of-pocket allowance of a certain sum as an incentive.

What is the Progress under TOPS? Recording its best-ever performance at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, India won seven medals. Neeraj Chopra bagged India’s first Olympic gold in athletics at the men’s javelin throw event, while ace shuttler P.V. Sindhu created history by winning the bronze (first Indian woman to win 2 individual Olympic medals). The Indian men’s hockey team won the bronze medal, ending the nation’s 41-year Olympic medal drought in hockey. The Paralympics team bagged 19 medals at the Tokyo Paralympic Games - India’s highest tally in a single edition and higher than the cumulative total of all medals won till then.