Latest news with #NationalSportsGovernanceBill2025
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Sports bill to be moved in LS today
The Lok Sabha (PTI Photo) New Delhi : The two key proposed legislations which many believe will reshape Indian sports administration — National Sports Governance Bill 2025 and National Anti-Doping (amendment) Bill 2025 – look set to sail through the Lok Sabha, as sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya will present the bills on Thursday. 'Mansukh Mandaviya to move that the bill (national sports governance bill 2025) to provide for the development and promotion of sports, welfare measures for sportspersons, ethical practices based on basic universal principles of good governance, ethics and fair play of the Olympic and sports movement, the Olympic Charter, the Paralympic Charter, international best practices and established legal standards and to provide for the resolution of sports grievances and sports disputes in a unified, equitable and effective manner and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto, be taken into consideration. Also to move that the bill be passed,' read the list of business for Thursday on the Lok Sabha website. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Sudden buzz around Indian sport mostly box-ticking
Much activity whirled around Indian sport last week – the National Sports Governance Bill 2025 (NSGB) was tabled in parliament, a new National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill 2025 made its appearance too and the 19-month ruckus in the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) between president PT Usha and the executive council – over the appointment of CEO Raghuram Iyer – suddenly dissolved, Usha brushing everything off as 'small internal disputes'. The 19-month ruckus in the IOA between president PT Usha and the executive council – over the appointment of CEO Raghuram Iyer – dissolved last week. (PTI) At an IOA briefing, there were glimpses of what drove the developments and the bonhomie. IOA joint secretary Kalyan Chaubey, also president of the beleaguered All India Football Federation (AIFF), said IOA's vision was 'to ensure India wins the bid' (to host the 2036 Olympics). He said, IOA would do 'whatever required – that comes with athlete development… good governance… better infrastructure facilities developed… educate athletes in terms of anti-doping… NADA needs to be more equipped to hold more sessions… ensure more sports conclaves… better coordination with all the stakeholders… Whatever is essential to host a big event I think IOA should do and will do.' Promising, forward thinking, a new dawn for Indian sport, etc. Excuse please, hold the beer, sorry, protein shake, because other kinds of news is disturbing this positivity. Qatar formally launched its Olympics2036 bid with a 16-page press kit saying 95 percent of its Olympic venues were 'already in place and tested at the highest level'. Its Instagram reel then showed visuals from the 2022 FIFA World Cup and world championships in athletics (2019), swimming (2024), artistic gymnastics (2025) and the 2025 table tennis world championships finals – all held in Doha, Qatar's 2036 candidate city. In the past ten years, India's list of global sports events hosted is thus: two men's (zero women's) hockey World Cups in Odisha, two shooting World Cup Finals in New Delhi and the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup and 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup. Last week, alongside Chaubey's rah-rah and Doha2036's Instareel came word that only six of 12 Indian badminton players could compete at the World University Games – because Association of Indian Universities (AIU) officials had not submitted a complete list. Then, according to an India Today report, an unnamed player said AIU officials, angry about their public outing, threatened players saying their 'careers will end once we return to India'. Then two more female runners didn't find their name on the start list – totalling eight Indians who couldn't compete at the Universiade due to official carelessness. The AIU suspended its joint secretary Baljit Singh Sekhon but opportunities are already lost. Chaubey's careful listing of the 'essentials' to host 'a big event' is like investing in sandcastles. Indian sport needs these elements to actually nourish its ecosystem from the roots – like cleaning up the damn beach to start with. This sudden buzz around Indian sport is mostly a rapid box-ticking – because that's what IOA was told needed to be addressed when its delegation met the International Olympic Committee (IOC) early this month. The meeting was meant to present – sans public discussion - Ahmedabad's 2036 candidacy. Instead, IOA was told to sort out its in-fighting, address India's proliferation of dope positives and up its sporting performance. Therefore, the IOA peace summit and the push for the two bills around sports governance and anti-doping. Improving athletic performance will mean IOA and national sporting federations (NSF) focusing on athletes over 'big events', so let's not hold our breaths. There lie reveals in the new NSGB as well. It aims for structural changes in how Indian sport is run and creates an independent regulatory body. The National Sports Board is meant to take over overseeing NSF operations from the government. Plus, sporting disputes will now be handled by a National Sports Tribunal, not the civil courts. (As of February, our courts list 217 ongoing sports cases.) Reasonable ideas both. But let's compare the October 2024 draft of the governance bill released for public feedback with what is now in parliament. To start with the NSGB25 is a pared down version of the draft – 9,243 bill-specific words to the draft's detailed 16,210. A simple draft read through shows the clause about at least one female vice-president in IOA's EC has gone missing from NSGB. Surprise, surprise. Now quibbling, but the 'at least 30%' women clause in this 15-member EC has been turned into a 'minimum of four' (26.6%). One less woman's the better, I suppose. The clause that an office-bearer could serve no more than two consecutive terms – on average eight years – in any post is now three terms, followed by a four-year cooling off. That's twelve years, plus there is no maximum number of terms – the candy clause for all sports administrators under 65. Only when an individual crosses 70 at the time of filing nominations for an election will their side careers as sports officials cease. Setting term limits on return post cooling was argued as stifling the expertise and impact of Indian sports' admin brokers globally. Currently, outside of cricket, the Indians holding posts ('cooling off') in international federations are Adille Sumariwalla, vice-president of World Athletics, Malav Shroff, president Asian Sailing Federation and Virendra Nanavati, bureau member World Aquatics. Neeraj Chopra & Ors gives Sumariwalla a pass of sorts but Shroff and Nanavati's international 'influence' has created zero ripple in home waters. NSGB means groundhogs and their days will return. The 'autonomy' of sports federations has ensured the NSGB axe for draft clauses that had seemed appropriate for India's politically interwoven sporting system. This is the deleted clause: 'An individual shall be disqualified from being an Individual Member or a representative of a Voting Member (in an NOC/NSF) upon conviction of an offence and being sentenced for a period of more than 2 (two) years.' Whereas, even under the Constitution, anyone convicted and sentenced for two years cannot contest elections for six years. But Indian sport is a free-for-all anyway, so why can't convicted individuals get a clear run here, eh? There's big events to be conducted.
First Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
Will Indian Government Take Over BCCI Administration? First Sports With Rupha Ramani
Will Indian Government Take Over BCCI Administration? | First Sports With Rupha Ramani | N18G The BCCI, the most powerful cricket board in the world, is staring at a major shift. For the first time since 1928, India's cricketing powerhouse could come under the purview of the Sports Ministry under the proposed National Sports Governance Bill 2025. What does this mean for BCCI's decades-long autonomy? Will this trigger a power struggle? Or is it a long-overdue move toward transparency and accountability? Rupha Ramani unpacks the government's intentions, the bill's implications, and how BCCI is taking it. See More
Hans India
25-07-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Don't play around with BCCI
In what can be called as a 'better late than never' initiative, the National Sports Governance Bill 2025 that was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, appears, at least on paper, like a panacea for many of the ills besetting the sports fraternity in the country. Although, this raises a glimmer of hope for all and sundry, the fact of the matter is that this ambitious attempt wherein the buck stops with the government, has to reckon with challenges one too many if the proposed norms are to become relevant and meaningful. Barring those into cricket and perhaps golf and the many who have relocated to foreign bases to make a name and pocket millions like some chess players, Indian athletes have forever remained an accursed lot, poor cousins of the stinking rich cricketers, if one goes by the measly support from the government. The landmark Bill may help regulate the administrative set-up and prioritise athletes' interests, but it lags way behind when it comes to meeting the needs, especially as regards infrastructure and financial support, overseas exposure and hiring foreign coaches that can collectively be a morale-booster for every budding athlete. The truth is that there has been an abysmal promotion of sports for decades together. One must also note that the administration has never been transparent, the entire system has been ridden with internal power struggles and an overwhelming political involvement that has rendered more harm than good. The toner of the Bill appears like it will address all issues and bring about a hitherto absent accountability and a legal framework to rejuvenate the entire administrative apparatus like mandating inclusion of athletes in every decision-making committee; National Sports Federation (NSF) to put in place an independent Ethics and Grievance Redressal Board; establishing an independent National Sports Board, a National Sports Tribunal and a National Sports Election Panel. So far, so good! Alas the pitfall is that the government appears to be obsessed with the Olympics and focussing on the disciplines that figure in the global extravaganza. One should not forget that many such earlier attempts have ended up as non-starters, futile exercises or have boomeranged on the authorities. Ace paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal, who has welcomed the Bill, was bang on. 'I think this athlete-centric bill has been much-awaited, not just by the players but also by all stakeholders involved in Indian sport. There are a lot of pending cases that are affecting the growth of a sports person and, thereby, the growth of Indian sports.' The biggest problem that the government faces is in bringing the prized money-spinner, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) under its ambit. It would be a herculean task to beard the world's richest cricketing body or force its authorities to follow any foolhardy diktat. Hoping to bring cricket under its control just because the sport is to debut as an Olympic event at Los Angeles in 2028 is nothing but Utopian daydreaming. Football has been an Olympic sport for ages but basketball, for all its much-hyped inclusion in Olympics, does not really attract the participation of the contemporary crème da la crème. Making cricket an Olympic sport is one thing and bringing the BCCI under the government ambit is quite another for the simple reason that the Board does not take any government funding. Moreover, trying to boss over the BCCI may result in a backlash by the players and millions of fans, nay voters.
Time of India
24-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Game changer? Governance bill puts BCCI under RTI, caps power in sports bodies
New Delhi: The govt introduced the 'National Sports Governance Bill 2025' in Parliament on Wednesday, marking a significant overhaul of the regulatory framework for sports bodies in India. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The 30-page legislation, a copy of which is with TOI, outlines several key provisions aimed at enhancing transparency and accountability within national sports federations (NSFs). A pivotal clause in the bill states that 'recognised sports bodies designated as public authority will come under RTI Act'. This amendment resolves a long-standing ambiguity, placing the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) within the purview of the Right to Information Act after years of resistance. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Previously, the BCCI did not classify itself as a public body or NSF, thereby opposing govt attempts to oversee its operations. With the new bill, the BCCI will operate as an NSF, subjecting its financial records to public scrutiny. The BCCI has adopted a 'wait and watch' policy, with its officials looking to study the bill first to understand its impact on the board's functioning before commenting on the matter. The board is registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975. Status of BCCI as public authority under the An official note on the ministry of youth affairs and sports (MYAS) website informs about the BCCI's reluctance to come under RTI purview. 'The MYAS, vide its order dated 21st April, 2010 declared recognised NSF as 'Public Authority' under the RTI Act, 2005. As BCCI has never approached the MYAS for recognition as NSF, the ministry has not recognised BCCI as NSF. However, the Chief Information Commission (CIC) vide its order dated 01.10.2018 (Annexure-I) held the BCCI as the public authority under RTI Act, 2005 and directed the president, secretary and committee of administrators (CoA) to designate deserving officers as Central Public Information Officers, Central Assistant Public Information Officers and First Appellate Authorities and put in place a system of online and offline mechanisms to receive the applications for information under RTI Act. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now MYAS was directed to take necessary steps to ensure implementation of this order. However, BCCI filed a writ petition in the High Court of Judicature at Madras challenging CIC's Order dated 01.10.2018. The High Court vide its order dated 09.11.2018 and 10.12.2018 (Annexure-II & III) had granted stay on CIC's order dated 01.10.2018. The stay order is still in operation.' Poll Should the BCCI be classified as a public authority under the RTI Act? Yes, it should be transparent No, it should remain independent Impose restrictions on national team's participation The bill also grants the govt overriding powers to impose international restrictions on the participation of national teams when deemed necessary for national interest. This provision ensures that the govt can intervene in international sports affairs to protect the country's sporting reputation and interests. Cap on EC members Furthermore, the bill introduces a cap on the composition of Executive Committees (EC) for the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and other NSFs. Each committee will be restricted to a maximum of 15 members, with a mandatory inclusion of at least four women. This measure aims to promote gender diversity and prevent executive bodies from becoming disproportionately dominated by a single group. National Sports Election Panel The bill calls for the formation of a pool of qualified election officials for transparent elections in sports federations. It will end inflated payments and biased appointments and fees standardised by NSB. In cases of suspension, derecognition, or governance failure, the NSB may direct the NOC to constitute an ad-hoc administrative body.
