NEW DELHI: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the interim budget on Thursday, 1 February. Sitharaman, however, did not announce any significant changes in the allocations for sports in 2024/25, despite 2024 being an Olympic Year.
It is to be noted though that the overall allocation for the sports sector has increased from Rs 3,397.32 crore last year to Rs 3442 crores for 2024-2025.
During her speech, the Finance Minister stated, “The country is proud of our youth scaling new heights in sports. The highest-ever medal tally in Asian Games and Asian Para Games in 2023 reflects a high confidence level. Chess prodigy and our Number-One ranked player Praggnanandhaa put up a stiff fight against the reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsson in 2023. Today, India has over 80 chess grandmasters compared to little over 20 in 2010.”
Coming to some specifics of the budgetary allocations, for “Sports and Youth Services“, there has been an increase from Rs 3040.35 cr to Rs 3062.87 cr.
Under the head of central “Assistance to National Sports Federations“, it is up by Rs 15 cr, from Rs 325 cr to Rs 340 cr.
The allocation for Khelo India is also up, from Rs 880 cr to INR 900 cr.
However, “Incentive to Sports Persons” has been slashed downwards from Rs 84 cr last year to Rs 39 cr for 2024-2025.
It is worth noting that in the lead-up to the Interim Budget announcement, there had been heightened anticipation of a substantial (emphasis ours) increase in fund allocation, specifically for sports infrastructure and grassroot development. The heightened hopes had come in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement about India’s intention to bid for the 2036 Olympics.
The sports fraternity was also keenly eyeing the budget for this year’s Olympic Games in Paris. There was a hope for an allocation of funds to elevate the prominence of homegrown sports leagues and an increase in the National Skill Development Fund. The government’s support for non-cricketing sports and the nurturing of budding stars was also expected.
