Time for India to put this idea in play

From two pillars to five: ‘Medals’ is the word most likely to be evoked by any mention of sports and the NSP 2001 captured this limited imagination of the pursuit. Grassroots sports for talent identification and international success were its two pillars. The NSP 2025 seeks to reframe sports as a cornerstone of nation building across five pillars: excellence, social development, economic growth, mass participation and education. 

This signals a new identity and role for sports in recognition of its power to effect population-scale change. It can improve physical and mental health outcomes, drive educational attainment and personal growth, enable social inclusion and contribute to livelihood creation, all with excellence as an overarching goal. It is also an open invitation for every Indian to participate. 

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Sports as a public good: The policy adopts a full-stack, ecosystem-based strategy that aims to integrate physical literacy with education, incentivize community engagement, develop high-performance pathways and encourage inter-ministerial, centre-state and public-private collaborations. This goes beyond semantics to real significance. 

For physical literacy, the policy adopts a rights-based approach to sports in education and  promotes mass participation in competitive sport and physical activity so it becomes a people’s movement. In general, it positions sports as a public good, with wide engagement serving a broader purpose. Countries that embed sports within their civic, health and educational frameworks report better social indicators—reduced crime, a better sense of belonging, increased gender equity and stronger civic cohesion. 

With over 65% of India’s population aged below 35, we are well placed to reap similar dividends. From a health economics standpoint, mass participation in sports can reduce the rising burden of non-communicable diseases while enhancing mental health and well-being.

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From a labour and livelihood perspective, the sports ecosystem—from coaching, event management, infrastructure and apparel to data analytics and broadcasting—can create hundreds of thousands of jobs. The global sports economy, including value generated in adjacent sectors, is valued at over $600 billion. Informal estimates suggest that the Indian sports economy accounts for about 0.1–0.2% of GDP, significantly lower than the 0.5% plus seen in high-growth economies. India lags on direct employment  by sports as well. Even a modest convergence with global benchmarks could unlock thousands of crores in economic activity.

The NSP 2025 points to a crucial opportunity for India as a creator of sports value. Efforts in this direction would include supporting sports technology startups, the domestic manufacturing of equipment and wearables, sports media production and innovation in fan engagement.

The policy’s emphasis on inclusivity can improve social equity and widen the talent pipeline across all sporting disciplines.

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Clarity, culture and winning: While the NSP 2025 outlines ambitious objectives, it  acknowledges the role of better governance and institutions in implementing its vision. Its ultimate success will be judged on how its whole-of-government approach works out. 

Our current challenges range from good governance of sports bodies and countering age fraud and rampant doping to local coach development and fixing inconsistencies in  our reward and recognition systems. For all five pillars to work in support of the policy’s vision, we will need inter-ministerial trust and coordination as well as inter-state cooperation. 

Our sports framework will also have to accommodate more strategic players. The ‘national team’ should include private investors and enterprises, educational institutions, corporate social responsibility funders, philanthropies and social and civil society organizations. The government simply cannot implement its policy vision alone. To effectively nurture these new relationships, it should use its full policy toolkit, moving beyond its role as India’s sole implementer. It must also adapt itself to play multiple roles as our sports regulator, funder, enabler, assessor and celebrant.

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Also in need of attention: fundamental research through surveys on the state of sports and physical activity, status checks on sports management and governance and other such endeavours that aim to enhance our knowledge for effective action to be taken. Schemes and programmes under the policy should be tied to measurable outcomes, such as improvements in physical literacy, health indices, access to sports infrastructure and employment generation. Monitoring must go beyond audits and become a window to identify opportunities as well as areas of impact. 

Finally, the policy’s governance framework must mirror the enduring values of sports: fairness, accountability and transparency. Positioning sports as a public good calls for a mindset that looks at every Indian as a partner in progress.

This is a defining moment for India. The NSP 2025 sells an ambitious dream. If it succeeds, hosting the Olympics won’t be an end goal but just a pit-stop. Let’s get playing.

The authors are co-founders, Sports and Society Accelerator, a national sports promotion organization.