India’s Highest Ever Sports Budget In Financial Year 2023-2024: ₹3,397.32 Crore

Published On: February 20, 2023

Sports have become an integral part of our society, both in terms of encouraging a healthy lifestyle and contributing to the economy. The sports industry is a significant contributor to the global economy, and governments throughout the world have increased their spending on sports development and marketing.

In India, the government has increased its sports budget, with an emphasis on constructing world-class facilities to assist athletes and promote the country’s sports culture. In this blog, we will look at India’s sports budget and the government’s efforts to promote sports across the country.

Sports Budget 2023

The Indian government has proposed a sports budget of ₹3,397.32 crore to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. This is an increase of 11% over the previous fiscal year’s budget of Rs. 3,062.30 crore.

Not all of the funds in the budget are for players. They are distributed to other athletic organisations with the goal of developing these organisations in India.

Knowing where the budget is allocated and to which organisation will give you a better understanding of where the money will be spent. That being said, let’s go over the detailed allocation of funds to the sporting bodies.

Allocation of funds

This year, the funds allocated to the National Sports Federations (NSFs) have gone up. The previous year’s allocations were ₹280 crore, and that has been increased to ₹325 crore.

The funds for the Sports Authority of India (SAI) have been increased to ₹785.5 crore from the previous year’s revised grant of ₹749.43 crore. Apart from appointing coaches, SAI will use the budget to manage several national teams, national camps, and provide the best infrastructure and facilities to athletes.

Khelo India, the government’s flagship initiative, receives a significant portion of the financial allocation. Khelo India will receive 1,045 crore, a 400 crore increase above the previous revised allotment of 600 crore. With its many programmes, such as the Khelo India Youth Games and the Khelo India University Games, Khelo India has evolved into a platform for identifying and nurturing young talent. Since its inception in 2018, the funding for Khelo India has been increasing.

The National Sports University has been given a budget of 107.84 crore. The sports university, founded in 2018, is the first of its type, offering programmes in sports science and medicine, coaching, sports administration, and technology.

The National Centre of Sports Science and Research was another prominent organisation that received funding in this budget. They were allotted 13 crore to distribute to medical schools and universities to construct sports science and research centres.

However, the money set aside for athlete incentives has decreased by 10 crore from the previous year’s allotment of 55 crore, amounting to a total of 45 crore.

The National Anti-Doping Agency has been allocated 21.73 crore after a National Anti-Doping Bill was passed last year to create a statutory body for regulating anti-doping activities, and the National Dope Testing Laboratory has been allocated 19.50 crore.

Summary

The Indian government’s sports budget for 2023–24 indicates the country’s dedication to supporting sports. It demonstrates that they are investing in a brighter and healthier future for the country.

The sports budget and initiatives should be viewed as a chance to build a sustainable athletic environment that benefits both athletes and society as a whole.

With the above-allocated budget in Sports, we can say that the increased budget will be directly proportional to the increase in sporting activities in our country.

This will lead to more and larger sporting events being held across India which will require trained sports management professionals.