Decline in Contributions to the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF)

Contributions to the NSDF have significantly decreased over a span of three years, from Rs 85.26 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 37.02 crore in 2025-26. This decline was highlighted in records obtained under the Right To Information (RTI) Act.

Reasons for Decline

• A Parliamentary panel attributes the fall to decreased corporate trust in the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
• There is a noticeable preference among donors for privately managed sports organizations over government-led initiatives.
• Even Public Sector Undertakings are retracting their support, a trend previously dominated by the private sector.

Impact

• The shrinking fund base complicates the defense of fund diversions for non-sport-related uses, such as bureaucrats’ colonies and civil services clubs.
• Discrepancies in funding reveal that while SAI's center in Bengaluru received Rs 5 crore, a private badminton academy in the same city obtained Rs 25 crore through CSR funding.

Recommendations by the Parliamentary Panel

The panel, chaired by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh and including notable BJP MPs, suggested the following:

• Engage the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to amend CSR rules/regulations to ensure government institutions are equally eligible for CSR funding in sports.
• Ensure that CSR funds are strictly allocated towards developing sports infrastructure, coaching, and similar purposes.