The 2023 Budget has proposed an allocation of Rs 3,397 crore to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. It made headlines for being the highest-ever in history. However, not all the money in the budget is meant for sportspersons. Understanding the sectoral payouts would give a broader understanding of where exactly is the money going to be spent.
Khelo India: The biggest beneficiary
A total of Rs 1,045 crore has been allocated to the Khelo India-National Programme for development of sports. An allocation of Rs 15 crore has been made to the enhancement of sports facility in Jammu and Kashmir. Surprisingly, Rs 30 crore has been allocated to Commonwealth Games 2010. This is very interesting given the fact that it has been more than 12 years since the games took place in India and yet the government is paying for it.
The Rs 1,000 crore for Khelo India, the government’s flagship programme, is to build the interest of the youth in Olympic sports. This is a direct increase of Rs 4,00 crore from the last budget’s revised estimates of Rs 600 crore. Under Khelo India, the government organises two all-India level multi-day, multi-disciplinary games called Khelo India Youth Games and Khelo India University Games.
National Service Scheme
All the budgetary allocation done for Sports Budget doesn’t necessarily go to sports activity or athletes in the country. The National Service Scheme (NSS), which engages the youth in higher-secondary schools, colleges and universities in social service schemes has received Rs 325 crore, an increase of Rs 110 crore from the revised estimates of Rs 214 crore for 2022-23.
Decrease in incentives for sportspersons
The only direct monetary benefit reserved for athletes who represent the country on international platforms in the of incentives has seen a decrease of Rs 10 crore as it has fallen to Rs 45 crore from the previous year’s Rs 55 crore.
SAI and NSFs get a big boost
The biggest positive for sportspersons is the increase in the funding for the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the National Sports Federations. While SAI has received an increase of Rs 132 crore from the Budget Estimates of Rs 653 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 785 crore in 2023-24, the NSFs’ fund has increased from Rs 280 crore to Rs 325 crore.
These are the two bodies directly involved with the training and exposure of athletes that represent the country all over the world. The Olympic Podium Scheme and National Centre of Excellence in Sports are run under SAI to provide world-class facilities to chosen athletes even outside India. All NSFs on the other hand organise tours of their players to participate in various events.
Sports education prioritised with National Sports University
For the first time, the National Sports University has received a budgetary allocation of Rs 107.84 crore. Along with that, the Laxmi Bai National Institute of Physical Education has also received Rs 75 crore, an increase of Rs 14 crore over the last year’s revised estimates.
Check the full Sports Budget here:
Only 34.5 per cent of Rs 3,397 crore is to be spent on athletes who might represent India.
It is interesting to note that the total budget of SAI, NSF and incentives to sports persons would equal Rs 1,172 crore, which is only 34.5 per cent of the total Sports Budget, which in itself is 0.075 per cent of India’s total Budget Estimate for 2023-24.
The remaining 65 per cent of the Budget is for various schemes of the government which are not directly related to the senior sports persons who might represent the nation in the upcoming Asian Games in 2023 and the Paris Olympics in 2024.
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