Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has said that the National Sports Governance Bill, which will be tabled in the monsoon session beginning on Monday, will usher in a “new era” for sports in India.
Rijiju, who was the Union Sports Minister for two years between 2019 and 2021, had played a key role in building consensus for the Bill in consultation with the country's sports administrators and other stakeholders.
Terming it as a historic bill for the sporting community, the Lok Sabha MP described it as a visionary idea about transforming the sports sector. The Bill seeks to create a framework for good governance in the National Sports Federations (NSFs) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). It mandates the setting up of a regulatory board which would have the power to grant recognition and decide funding to NSFs based on their adherence to provisions pertaining to good governance.
The regulatory board will be responsible for ensuring compliance with the highest governance, financial and ethical standards. NSFs were brought on board after extensive discussions over several years, which picked up momentum after Mandaviya took charge last year.
The Bill also proposes the establishment of Ethics Commissions and Dispute Resolution Commissions to ensure transparency in governance and cut down litigation, which can to embarrassing showdowns between athletes and administrators over a number of issues ranging from selection of players to elections.
The IOA has opposed the Bill, saying a regulatory board would undermine its standing as the nodal body for all NSFs. IOA President PT Usha has said that the legislation could lead to India’s suspension by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for government interference. However, Mandaviya said the IOC has been consulted while drafting the proposed legislation. Having the IOC on board is crucial for India, which has proposed to host the 2036 Olympics.
Rijiju, who supported autonomy of sports administrators but with greater accountability during his tenure in the Sports Ministry, said he is confident that the Bill would be smoothly passed in Parliament.
“There are two other things, the Khelo Bharat Niti and the Anti-Doping Amendment Bill. These two bills are to be combined, and we will discuss it in Parliament. Once the New Sports Bill is passed, it will usher in a new sporting culture in the country. Khelo India is already promoting sports culture in the country,” he said.
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