The overall allocation for sports ministry saw a rise of over Rs 1000 crore with the government’s flagship Khelo India programme getting a big chunk of the allocation at Rs 924.35 crore.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasised on India’s potential to emerge as a manufacturing hub for sports goods as she unveiled big allocation for the sector during her speech while presenting the Union Budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The overall budget of sports ministry saw a hike of over Rs 1000 crore with the sports goods manufacturing sector standing out as a major beneficiary.
“I propose a dedicated initiative for sports goods that will promote manufacturing, research and innovation in equipment design as well as material sciences,” Sitharaman said during her budget speech.
This is the first time that the sports goods manufacturing sector has seen a separate allocation under its name. The Sports Ministry welcomed the allocation and said a detailed plan would be made to ensure support for the industry.
Sports budget rises by Rs 1000 crore
The overall budget allocation for the ministry was increased to Rs 4479.88 crore from the 2025-26 revised allocation of Rs 3346.54 crore.
The Sports Authority of India (SAI), the nodal body for the conduct of national camps and logistical arrangements for athletes’ training and also responsible for maintaining stadia across the country, saw its allocation rise from Rs 880 crore to Rs 917.38 crore.
The government’s flagship Khelo India programme received an allocation of Rs 924.35 crore. The allocated sum was Rs 1000 crore last year, but the final expenditure was Rs 700 crore.
The assistance for the Commonwealth Games, which takes place later this year, has been hiked from Rs 28.05 crore to Rs 50 crore this year, which is a 78 per cent increase.
The National Dope Testing Laboratory and National Anti-Doping Agency’s budget, however, got reduced from Rs 28.55 crore in 2025-26 to Rs 23 crore and from Rs 24.30 crore to Rs 20.30 crore respectively. The budget allocation for National Sports University was also reduced from Rs 78.64 crore to Rs 46.98 crore.
The contribution to the National Sports Development Fund, which was created in 1998, was increased from Rs 3 crore to Rs 5 crore, while the government has decided to hike the incentive to sportspersons from Rs 28 crore to Rs 40 crore this year.
The assistance for National Sports Federations has also been marginally hiked from Rs 400 crore to Rs 425 crore.
(With PTI inputs)
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