Game On: India’s New Sports Policy 2025

In a turning point for Indian sport, the Union Cabinet approved the National Sports Policy, 2025, on July 1, 2025. On the same day, an Indian delegation met the International Olympic Committee (IOC) officials in Lausanne, officially confirming Ahmedabad as the country’s choice to host a future edition of the Olympic Games.

The new policy, which supersedes the National Sports Policy of 2001, aims to position India as a global sporting powerhouse, hosting major international sports events and enhancing its participation and medal tally in international sports competitions.

Key highlights of the new policy:

• Vision: “Sports for Nation Building – Harness the Power of Sports for Nation’s Holistic Development“. The policy envisions strengthening the sporting culture and ecosystem from the grassroots to the national level, ultimately achieving excellence in sports on the global stage, leveraging sports for economic development, utilising sports as a tool for social development and making sports a people’s movement for health and wellbeing.
• Objectives: The policy, inter alia, aims to strengthen governance and institutional frameworks in the sports sector, create a robust competitive structure by organising sports competitions and leagues at various levels, establish sports as a viable career option, and encourage mass participation in sports and fitness activities.
• Contours of the policy: The policy is anchored on five key pillars – excellence on the global stage, sports for economic development, sports for social development, sports as a people’s movement, and integration with education through NEP 2020.
• Strategic framework: To realise its objectives, the policy lays down a comprehensive implementation strategy encompassing:
  • Governance: The policy envisages the establishment of the requisite regulatory framework (including law) for governance, to prepare India’s sports ecosystem for the Olympics 2036. Additional measures include the enactment of a national anti-doping law and the setting up of national-level regulatory bodies to ensure ethical practices, fair play and healthy competition in the sports sector.
  • Leveraging technology: Emerging technology, including AI, will be used for data-driven analysis. Revamping existing platforms will facilitate the more effective implementation and monitoring of sports schemes and projects.
  • National framework: The policy seeks to establish a national framework with defined benchmarks, key performance indicators (KPIs), and time-bound targets to guide sports development.
  • Private sector engagement: The private sector will be encouraged to participate in sports development activities through targeted policies and schemes. Notably, the policy will incorporate Return on Investment (ROI) considerations to make such involvement viable and appealing for private entities.

Conclusion

The policy aligns with broader objectives of health, economic and social development. Key initiatives include establishing a Sports Business Advisory Group, promoting regions with unique attributes (such as the Himalayan states for winter sports), and implementing a Fitness Ranking and Indexing system.

It is also stated that, wherever feasible, promising and prominent Indian-origin athletes living abroad may be encouraged to come back and play for India at the international level. This reflects a change in the government’s stance in light of the 2008 ban on Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) from representing the country in international sporting events. 

While the policy outlines a strategic roadmap, its success will ultimately depend on coordinated implementation and the active involvement of all stakeholders. Nevertheless, it reflects the government’s foresight and its strong commitment to leveraging sports as a powerful tool for the nation’s holistic development, as captured in its vision.