The Government of India announced the FY 2023-24 Union Budget on February 1, which kept the nation on its feet regarding the anticipation of new tax slabs and other vital factors.
One of the major prospects of the union budget, which was a bellwether to the commemoration in the sports industry, was the significant hike in the budget allocated to the sports ministry.
For FY 2023-24, the government issued INR 3397.32 crore to the sports industry. The newly designated amount saw a hike of INR 723.97 crore from the previous financial year, where the industry received INR 2,673.35 crore, as against the actual grant of INR 3,062.60 crore.
Overwhelmed by the increase in the sports budget allocation, Sangeet Shirodkar, CEO and Co-founder, 27th Sports, touched upon a few aspects and elaborated on the progress from a point of view of a venture capitalist, “The sports sector in India has been granted the largest budget allocation in its history and from a venture capital perspective will be positive as it is helpful towards entrepreneurs that are solving real pain points in the sports industry. The massive increase of over 300 Crores in the Union Budget effectively shows a steady rise for the Indian Sports and Venture Capital Industry as it helps startups gain more support in funding and mentorship programs. The budget will help to focus specifically on emerging markets and sports such as cricket, golf, beach sports, and e-sports among others.India’s growth being the highest among major economies is a powerful aspect that will aim to encourage participation of youth and women in the sports activities in our country.”
Comparison between FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24 Sports Budget Allocation:
Khelo India, the annual national-level multidisciplinary games in India, was allotted INR 1045 crore. In the previous financial year, the Delhi-headquartered entity received INR 606 crore.
The supreme sports body of India, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) had issued INR 785.52 crore, with an increase of INR 36.09 crore from last FY’s INR 749.43 crore.
The National Sports Federations (NSFs), which encourage fundamental principles of sports at a national level, were granted INR 325 crore against last year’s INR 280 crore. The entity witnessed an enhancement of INR 45 crore.
| FY 2022-23 | FY 2023-24 | |
| Khelo India | INR 606 crore | INR 1045 |
| Sports Authority of India (SAI) | INR 749.43 crore | INR 785.52 |
| National Sports Federations (NSFs) | INR 280 crore | INR 325 crore |
The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) and National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) from here on will receive direct funding and not through SAI like before.
With the inclusion of a new provision in the recently released budget, NADA and NDTL will receive INR 21.73 crore and INR 19.50 crore, respectively.
In addition, the National Centre of Sports Science and Research will also receive INR 13 crore with an intention of venturing into sports science and scientific training of athletes.