The rural sports festival Isha Gramotsavam is entering the North Indian market for the first time, as its eighteenth edition expands its reach to ten states and one Union territory. Organizers stated that this is the largest event in history, gathering over 80,000 participants from more than 40,000 villages.
This tournament, organized by Isha Outreach Sadhguru, is recognized as an initiative by FIT India and the National Sports Promotion Organization of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. For the first time, it will be held in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, and Maharashtra, alongside Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Puducherry.
The competitions, which include men's volleyball and women's trossball, are expected to involve nearly 7,000 teams, including about 15,000 female athletes. The prize fund for the winner exceeds 10 million rupees.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Swami Pulaka noted that such an expansion reflects the organization's long-standing concept—to use sports as a tool for social transformation. He told reporters: 'We are conducting Isha Gramotsavam in North India for the first time. Over 250 locations will host competitions across the country. Our goal has always been to use sports to bring positive change to society. Sport unites people and helps transform lives.'
He also specified that the Isha Foundation organizes training camps in the participating states to introduce rural youth to this competition. Swami Pulaka added that the chosen sports are men's volleyball and women's trossball, and that every player on a team must belong to one gram panchayat. Professional athletes are excluded because the main objective is grassroots sports promotion and supporting talent from villages.
Local matches will begin in the second week of July, followed by divisional rounds and regional finals. The grand final is scheduled for September at the Isha Yoga Center in Coimbatore in the presence of Sadhguru.
In Uttar Pradesh, local matches will take place in Lucknow, Varanasi, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, and Gautam Buddha Nagar, before regional finals in Lucknow on August 9. Haryana will hold local matches in Panipat, Karnal, Ambala, Hisar, and Kurukshetra, with regional finals set for Karnal on the same day.
Among those present at the launch were former champions whose lives have changed thanks to the tournament. Nandini, a two-time trossball champion from the village of Devarapuram in Tamil Nadu, shared that initially, women in her village were unaware of this sport until the Isha Foundation conducted workshops. She shared that playing trossball helped her manage stress and ultimately inspired her to become a physical education teacher.
Manikandan, a three-time volleyball champion and player of the year, stated that the tournament changed the trajectory of his sporting career. He recounted that before his village won Isha Gramotsavam in 2016, he was a kabaddi player. Receiving the trophy from Sachin Tendulkar prompted him to switch to volleyball, and winning the MVP award helped him improve sports facilities in his village and renovate his house.
Over the last two decades, Isha Gramotsavam has attracted more than 260,000 rural players from over 35,000 villages, while simultaneously showcasing the cultural heritage of rural India through traditional folk performances, village games, and regional cuisine alongside sporting contests.
Aditya Birla Group has announced plans to increase its investment in the state of Odisha, offering an additional ₹12,000 crore to expand its new alumina plant in Kansariguda, Rayagada district.
This proposal was made during a meeting between Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla on Saturday. The expansion will allow the plant's production capacity to increase from the initially planned one million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to three mtpa, bringing the total project cost to ₹20,000 crore.
The plant in Kansariguda is being developed by Hindalco Industries Ltd, which is the flagship metallurgical enterprise of Aditya Birla Group. It was originally approved as a new 1 mtpa alumina plant with an estimated cost of around ₹8,000 crore. With support from the state and the long-term potential of the project, the company offered an additional ₹12,000 crore to add 2 mtpa of production capacity.
This project will provide a significant amount of direct and indirect employment, as well as create new opportunities for local businesses, service providers, and related industries. The expansion is also expected to stimulate the development of downstream aluminum production in Odisha, helping the state capture a larger share of added value in the aluminum supply chain.
The Chief Minister welcomed the offer, emphasizing that Odisha's rich mineral resources should be transformed into industrial added value, advanced manufacturing, and quality employment within the state, rather than being limited to raw material extraction. Majhi stated that aluminum is central to the state's vision of adding metallic value, and that the expansion of the Kansariguda plant will strengthen Odisha's position as a leading center for metallurgy and metalworking in India.
The Chief Minister assured Birla that the state government would provide all necessary support for the timely implementation of the project, including land, infrastructure, utilities, permits, and other requirements. During the meeting, progress on current and proposed investments by Aditya Birla Group in Odisha, as well as opportunities to deepen the conglomerate's presence in various sectors, were discussed. In addition to the alumina plant, potential investments were considered in copper production, laminated copper products, printed circuit boards, advanced aluminum products, technical textiles, paints, jewelry manufacturing, renewable energy, chemicals, cement, and apparel.
According to industry experts, increasing production capacity will reduce dependence on imported alumina for certain operations while supporting the company's long-term domestic and export goals. The state is actively attracting investments in high value-added sectors such as metals, electronics, renewable energy, petrochemicals, and advanced manufacturing.
Despite the new proposal, it only reinforces the group's long-standing industrial presence in Odisha. Hindalco already has a significant industrial footprint in the state, having invested over ₹40,000 crore in bauxite mining, alumina production, primary aluminum smelting, and downstream processing. In addition to the ₹12,000 crore expansion of the Kansariguda plant, the Aditya Birla Group's flagship metallurgical enterprise plans to invest another ₹38,000 crore in the state.
Hindalco's key production assets are located in Odisha, including the Aditya Aluminium complex in Lapanga, Sambalpur, which is undergoing an expansion worth ₹21,000 crore to double smelting capacity to 0.72 mtpa. The company also operates the Utkal alumina plant in Rayagada with a capacity of 2.12 mtpa, supplied with bauxite from the Baphlimali mines via an 18-kilometer conveyor, as well as the Hirakud smelter, one of India's oldest aluminum facilities. The conglomerate is also actively expanding its presence in apparel and textiles, focusing on women's employment, and opening new production units in Rayagada, Keonjhar, and Sambalpur.
Several important decisions were made at the meeting of the Bihar government cabinet, chaired by Samrat Chaudhary. A total of 22 agenda items were approved, including significant proposals concerning healthcare, transport, and fisheries.
The cabinet granted administrative permission to acquire a land parcel of 26.76 hectares in Bhusaula village, Danapur district, for the expansion of AIIMS located in Patna. This initiative is estimated to cost approximately 348.90 crore rupees. The government believes that the expansion of AIIMS Patna will allow for an increased range of super-specialty medical services, providing patients with more modern and high-quality medical opportunities within one complex, while also accelerating the development of medical education and scientific research, thereby strengthening the state's healthcare system.
Furthermore, the cabinet adopted a major decision aimed at stimulating the fisheries and aquaculture sector. The creation of the Bihar Aquaculture Infrastructure and Development Corporation Limited (BAIDCL) was approved. According to the government statement, the establishment of BAIDCL will promote the development of modern fishery infrastructure, which in turn will encourage investment in this area, create new jobs, and help increase the income of fish farmers.
An important decision aimed at strengthening the state's transport system was the approval to prepare an Alternative Analysis Report (AAR) and Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the construction of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) on four key corridors of the state. The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) was assigned to carry out this work. It is planned that the proposed RRTS corridors will be developed between Patna, Muzaffarpur, Begusarai, Arrah, and Gaya. These decisions by the Bihar cabinet are viewed as an important step towards expanding medical services, strengthening the transport network, and accelerating the development of the fisheries sector in the state.
