The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports has announced significant revisions to the norms of assistance provided to National Sports Federations (NSFs) under the Scheme of Assistance to NSFs. This update comes after the conclusion of the Paris Olympics 2024 and marks the beginning of a new Olympic cycle, necessitating a review to address evolving challenges and to support India’s goal of hosting the 2036 Olympic Games. The last revision was carried out in February 2022.
The revised norms reflect the impact of inflation on costs related to training, infrastructure, equipment, and athlete welfare programs. The Ministry has increased the financial assistance for several components and introduced new measures aimed at strengthening grassroots development, capacity building, and high-performance sports management.
Under the updated scheme, NSFs must allocate at least 20% of their annual budget towards grassroots development via their affiliate units. This funding is specifically earmarked for junior and youth athlete development to build a strong bench strength.
Capacity building has also been prioritized, with a minimum of 10% of the funds dedicated to coach and technical staff development. This includes organising training courses within India and abroad, developing coaching curricula, conducting seminars and workshops, and hiring experts for national and international certification programs. All NSFs are required to appoint a Coaching Education Expert to train trainers, and foreign experts will be engaged to enhance local officials’ and coaches’ skills, as part of the Key Results Areas (KRAs).
NSFs with an annual budget of ₹10 crore or more must appoint a High-Performance Director (HPD) responsible for designing and overseeing the technical development of the sport. The KRAs for the HPD will be defined by the respective NSFs and included in their contracts.
The revised norms also require NSFs in High Priority and Priority sports to identify probable athletes in Senior and Junior groups with high-performance potential. Support will be provided to accredited academies training these athletes, including assistance for coaches, technical staff, sports science services, and specialised equipment. These academies must be selected fairly and transparently, and their training programmes will be monitored by the HPD. NSFs will conduct gap analyses of these academies in their funding proposals.
To ensure proper nutrition, probable group athletes will receive a dietary allowance of ₹10,000 per month for non-camp days.
Administrative support is also a focus, with up to 10% of funds available for hiring personnel such as CEOs, finance managers, competition coordinators, coach development officers, IT staff, legal advisors, and office assistants.
Financial assistance for conducting national championships has increased substantially, with ₹90 lakh allocated for High Priority sports and ₹75 lakh for Priority sports, up from ₹51 lakh. Support for hosting international tournaments in India has doubled to ₹2 crore.
Coach salaries have also been raised, with Chief National Coaches now earning ₹7.5 lakh per month, up from ₹5 lakh. Other coaches will receive ₹3 lakh per month, an increase from ₹2 lakh. Diet charges for athletes have been increased to ₹1,000 per day for seniors and ₹850 for juniors.
These comprehensive revisions aim to empower NSFs, promote athlete development from grassroots to elite levels, and strengthen India’s sporting ecosystem as the country prepares for future international challenges and ambitions.