AIU Flags India as “Extremely High” Doping Risk

On April 20, 2026, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) issued an official press release under Rule 15 of the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules announcing that Indian athletes would be subject to more stringent anti-doping stipulations following the recategorization of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) from “Category B” to “Category A”. The decision was taken by the Athletics Integrity Unit Board due to the consistently “extremely high” risk of doping in India.

The official press release stated that the decision related to India’s ranking among the top two nations for the most Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) in athletics between 2022 and 2025. According to figures from the AIU, India recorded 48 ADRVs in 2022 and 63 in 2023, ranking second globally in both years. In 2024, India recorded 71 ADRVs and ranked first globally, while 30 ADRVs had already been recorded in 2025 at the time of the release’s issuance.

“Category A” Member Federations, representing the highest risk category, are subject to more stringent obligations and compliance requirements. The AIU specifically clarified that such federations must comply with the minimum testing requirements applicable to national team athletes.

Rule 15 of the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules, which came into effect in 2019, imposes anti-doping obligations on national federations that may be held accountable for anti-doping programmes operated within their respective countries. The Rule further requires the existence of a “reasonable and proportionate anti-doping programme” for national teams competing at major athletics championships and permits federations to be categorised according to their doping risk to the sport, with differing obligations applying depending upon the applicable category.

The press release stated that the doping situation in India had remained high-risk for a long time and that the quality of the domestic anti-doping programme was “simply not proportionate to the doping risk”. It was further noted that although the Athletics Federation of India had advocated for anti-doping reforms in the country, the AIU considered that insufficient changes had been made. Consequently, the AIU stated that it would work with the AFI to implement reforms intended to safeguard the integrity of athletics in the same manner as it has with other “Category A” Member Federations.

The development also assumes significance in light of continuing reforms to India’s domestic anti-doping framework. The National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill, 2025 (see our post), seeks to align the National Anti-Doping Act, 2022, with international best practices and the World Anti-Doping Code by proposing amendments to institutional independence, compliance obligations, and anti-doping regulatory mechanisms.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) is the independent body established by World Athletics to manage integrity issues in athletics, including anti-doping enforcement and non-doping integrity matters. According to the official release, the remit of the AIU includes anti-doping regulation, the investigation of age and competition result manipulation, fraudulent transfers of allegiance, bribery, and breaches of betting rules, with the stated objective of safeguarding the integrity of athletics and supporting clean athletes globally.