Rajya Sabha has taken up the National Sports Governance Bill, 2025 and the National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill, 2025 for consideration and passing.
The National Sports Governance Bill seeks to provide for recognition of national sports bodies and regulate their functioning. The Bill provides for the establishment of the National Olympic Committee, National Paralympic Committee, and National and Regional Sports Federations for each designated sport.
The national bodies will have affiliation with respective international bodies. The bill provides that every national sports body will have a general body, consisting of equal number of representatives from each affiliate member and certain ex-officio members. It will have an executive committee consisting of up to 15 members, with at least two outstanding sportspersons and four women. The Bill empowers the central government to establish a National Sports Board which will grant recognition to the national sports bodies and register their affiliate units. The Bill also provides for constituting a National Sports Tribunal to adjudicate sports related disputes.
The National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill, 2025 seeks to amend the National Anti-Doping Act 2022. Doping is the consumption of certain prohibited substances by athletes to enhance performance. The Act gives effect to the UNESCO convention against doping in sports. It prohibits doping in sports, and provides a framework for testing, enforcement, and adjudication of violations. It establishes the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) to implement anti-doping rules.
It also establishes the National Board for Anti-Doping in Sports to oversee activities of NADA and advise the central government on anti-doping regulations. The Bill empowers the National Board for Anti-Doping in Sports to obtain any information from the Disciplinary Panel and the Appeal Panel regarding their operations. The Bill specifies a list of conduct or circumstances as anti-doping rule violations.
Moving the Bill, Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that the government has brought this bill to bring transparency in the election of federations, selection of players within federations, and to increase the representation of women. He said, there are three stakeholders in sports: players, federation and the government and there should be coordination among them for transparency. Mr Mandaviya said that more than 350 court cases related to federation elections are currently on-going in the country.
He stressed the need to provide opportunities to every young person in the country to get opportunities in sports. Mr Mandaviya said that by passing the National Sports Governance Bill, a good law will be in place to create a positive image of the country in both the national and international sports sectors. The Minister said that today, 20 countries in the world have laws related to sports, but India does not have such a law so far.
Must Read
- Advertisement -
