Under the provision of this scheme, a grant of Rs 1.5 lakh is envisaged for each state fullfiling few conditions of eligibility, including the number of courts for training junior players, proper trained coaches, and availability of adequate number of AITA registred players under the age of 16.

With this amount, at least 100 children from each state will be given basic training in tennis. As per the programme, AITA will be spending Rs 30 lakhs annually for grassroot level training, in addition to funds being spent on other junior development activities.

According to an AITA spokesman, the first instalment of Rs 62,500, covering the period of August to December this year has already been disbursed to Assam, Andhra, Punjab, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Chandigarh and Pondicherry tennis associations.

The state associations of Delhi, Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra were give the same amount (Rs 62,500 each), an AITA spokesman said. The rest of the state units will receive their grants as soon as they satisfy the given criteria, the spokesman added.