THE SPORTS MINISTRY has tabled the figures for the financial assistance it provides to the national federations during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament.
In absolute terms, the highest allocation remains for athletics, though it fell from Rs 30 crore in 2022–23 to Rs 26 crore in 2024–25. Next highest is for boxing, whose share also declined, from Rs 24 crore in both 2022–23 and 2023–24, to Rs 22 crore in 2024–25.
Football was among the biggest losers in terms of government assistance. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) saw its funding nearly halved — from Rs 15 crore in 2022–23 to Rs 8.78 crore in 2024–25. However, when compared to Rs 6.95 crore in 2023–24, football registered a marginal rise.
AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey explained that the higher allocation in 2022–23 was due to India hosting the U-17 Women’s World Cup. Overall, football’s funding has declined steadily, from Rs 30 crore in 2019–20 to its current figure of Rs 8.78 crore.
Other sports, meanwhile, benefited from increases. Funding for table tennis rose from Rs 8 crore in 2022–23 to Rs 12 crore in 2024–25. Table Tennis Federation of India secretary general Kamlesh Mehta said, “Our requirements had changed and so had our goals. Earlier, we went to participate. Later, we were in the pursuit of excellence. We didn’t just send players and coaches — an entire team of support staff travelled with them, and the number of tournaments we entered also increased.”
The sharpest increase though, in percentage terms, is for yoga — a sport that doesn’t feature in the government’s list of high-priority disciplines. From Rs 1.3 crore in 2022–23, Yogasana India was allocated Rs 4.89 crore in 2024–25 — a rise of nearly 400%. The sport’s funding was almost equal to that of chess (Rs 5.2 crore) and higher than basketball (Rs 4.75 crore), volleyball (Rs 4.39 crore) and squash (Rs 4.45 crore).
Yogasana India president Udit Sheth noted, “As a federation, we had only recently started receiving government funding. Unlike many other sports that came to India from abroad, we were taking India’s heritage to the world, and that required significant work.”
Asked by Indian Express about the funding figures and their “ups and downs”, a Sports Ministry official noted that such “minor fluctuations” in allocations are routine and depend on the specific needs of each federation. A more than fair point.
Speaking for the the sports sector as a whole, it has been allocated Rs 3,442 crore for 2024–25, up from Rs 3,396 crore in the previous year, as per the Union Budget. Funding for National Sports Federations (NSFs) also increased by Rs 15 crore in 2024–25, reaching Rs 340 crore.
And just for the record, funding for NSFs is up by a significant Rs 60 crore over the previous fiscal allocation, at Rs 400 crore for 2025-26.
