From Playground To Podium: PM Modi's Sports Bill Heralds A New Era For Khel And Khiladi

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The National Sports Governance Bill is more than a law—it is the ushering of a new era for Indian sports—a plan to win consistently on the world stage & create a pipeline of talent
India stands at the cusp of a sporting revolution. The National Sports Governance Bill, 2025, passed by Parliament, is not just a legislation—it's the most transformational reform in the last 50 years, aimed towards improving sports administration, ushering in transparency, giving athletes a voice and increasing our chances of hosting the 2036 Olympic Games.
For decades, Indian sports suffered from opaque administration, vested interests, corruption and a lack of accountability. This law, shepherded by Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and conceived by the Modi government, promises to transform India's sporting ecosystem by bringing in a global standard and athlete-centric governance. It is the most decisive step towards making India a sporting powerhouse.
Indian sports have long been shackled by misgovernance. The 2010 Commonwealth Games scandal laid bare the rot—federations operating as personal fiefdoms, elections marred by disputes, funds misused and athletes sidelined from decision-making. The absence of a national and codified legal framework allowed power hungry, corrupt administrators to cling to power, while stifling talent and real progress.
The National Sports Governance Bill, 2025, is a game-changer that will create a National Sports Board (NSB)—a central regulator to recognise and oversee national and state sports federations, with powers to derecognise non-compliant bodies, thereby ensuring accountability. There will be a National Sports Tribunal (NST), a dedicated quasi-judicial body, modelled on the lines of international Court of Arbitration for Sport, to resolve disputes swiftly bypassing lengthy court battles. A Sports Election Panel will ensure transparent, fair elections with vetted and fair returning officers and this will end electoral malpractices. Age and tenure limits will ensure lifelong control by administrators becomes a thing of the past. Athlete and women's representation has been mandated with at least two athletes and four women on every 15-member executive committee, ensuring nearly 30 per cent representation for each group. It also introduces a Safe Sports Policy to protect women and minors from harassment or abuse, and requires Ethics/Anti-Doping Committees so India meets international integrity standards. These provisions together dismantle the old guard's stranglehold and align India's sporting ecosystem with global governance norms.
The New Sports Bill is pro-athlete, pro-women and pro-youth by placing athletes, women and youth at the heart of governance. By mandating Athlete Commissions and reserving leadership roles for players, it ensures those who compete on the field can shape decisions too.
For the first time, India's athletes will have a formal voice reversing decades of administrator-dominated management. With roughly 30 per cent of leadership positions reserved for women, there will be gender equality in a historically male-dominated domain. For 65 per cent of our youth, this law creates a meritocratic ecosystem, free from political control. Coupled with initiatives of PM Modi's government like Khelo India, which has established over 1,000 training centers and supports thousands of young athletes with scholarships, the law ensures a pipeline of sportspersons from grassroots to podium. In the Modi-era, sports programmes have turned Khel into a mass participatory movement or Jan Abhiyan and Andolan.
Finally, the Sports Bill will ensure that India's sports governance matches global leaders like the UK, USA and Japan. By codifying Olympic Charter principles and World Anti-Doping Agency guidelines, it ensures compliance with international norms. Transparent elections and ethics oversight minimise the risk of international sanctions, enabling India to bid confidently for events like 2036 Olympics.
Since 2014, PM Modi has been pushing sports into a national mission mode. Schemes like TOPS & Khelo India support hundreds of elite and budding athletes and have democratised access to world class training and resources. The sports budget has surged 130.9 per cent from a paltry Rs 1,643 crore in 2014–15 to Rs 3,794 crore in 2025–26. Infrastructure upgrades are also taking place simultaneously. PM Modi's vision—to change the attitude towards non-cricket sports and athletes—has made it a viable and respectable career.
In the last decade, India's medal haul has soared: 107 medals (28 gold) at the 2022 Asian Games, 61 medals (22 gold) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and a record 29 medals at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. At the Paris Olympics 2024, India secured six medals, including Neeraj Chopra's historic javelin silver.
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The National Sports Governance Bill is more than a law—it is the ushering of a new era for Indian sports—it's a plan to win, consistently on the world stage and to create a pipeline of talent from playground to the podium.
The author is National Spokesperson of the BJP. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18's views.
tags :
Mansukh Mandaviya pm narendra modi Sports Authority of India (SAI) Sports Bill
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Location :
New Delhi, India, India
First Published:
August 13, 2025, 11:46 IST
News opinion Opinion | From Playground To Podium: PM Modi's Sports Bill Heralds A New Era For Khel And Khiladi
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