The Union Cabinet, led by PM Narendra Modi, has given the National Sports Policy (NSP) 2025 approval, which might turn out to be a pathbreaking initiative aimed at transforming India's sporting legacy and harnessing the power of sport for national development.
Replacing the twenty-year-old NSP of 2001, this NSP 2025 presents a holistic and strategic plan to position India as a global sporting force. A key focus will remain on enhancing the nation’s competitiveness at international sporting events, including the 2036 Olympic Games.
The policy has been developed following all needed and some extra consultations with central ministries, also NITI Aayog, almost all state governments, national sports federations, sportspersons, domain experts, and public stakeholders.
It rests on five core pillars and is supported by a comprehensive strategic framework.
One of the pillars centres on achieving excellence at all levels, including international. This includes strengthening sports programmes from the grassroots to elite tiers, identifying and nurturing talent early, and building robust systems for training, coaching, and athlete welfare.
The policy also seeks to improve the governance of national federations and to increase the use of sports science, medicine, and technology.
Another key objective is to leverage sport as an economic driving force. The government is aiming to promote tourism via sports coverage, attract large-scale international events, and support the growth of startups and industries linked to sport.
Public-private partnerships (PPPs) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) funding will also play a vital role.
NSP 2025 underlines the potential of sport to foster social inclusion. Programmes will be introduced to boost participation among women, economically disadvantaged groups, tribal communities, and persons with disabilities.
Traditional and indigenous games will be revived, while sport will be encouraged as a viable professional career path. The Indian diaspora will also be engaged in sporting initiatives.
To embed sport into daily life, the policy envisages sport as a people’s movement. National fitness campaigns, community-led events, and mass participation drives will be launched at all levels locally, centrally and also once we start to invite International events.
The government has also planned to develop fitness indices for schools, colleges, and workplaces, and to enhance access to sports facilities across the country.
In alignment with NEP 2020, this NSP 2025 prioritises the integration of sport into formal education, where all the games will be incorporated into school curricula, and educators will receive specialised training to support physical education and sporting awareness.
To achieve its wide-ranging objectives, the policy outlines a robust strategic framework. This also includes the establishment of strong governance, legal mechanisms and arrangements, encouraging innovation through emerging tech and AI as well as data analytics, and increasing private sector participation via CSR and PPP models.
A national monitoring mechanism will oversee implementation, with clearly defined benchmarks, key performance indicators (KPIs), and time-bound targets. The policy is also intended to serve as a model for states and union territories, guiding them to draft or revise their own sports policies in line with national goals.
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