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July 19, 2025: The National Sports Governance Bill, which is scheduled to be presented during the monsoon session that begins on Monday, is expected to usher in a "new era" for sports in India, according to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju. Between 2019 and 2021, Rijiju served as the Union sports minister for two years.
He was one of the people who worked before the current incumbent Mansukh Mandviya and talked to sports administrators and other stakeholders in the country to get people to agree on the bill. The 53-year-old Arunachal West Lok Sabha MP stated in an interview that he anticipates the bill becoming an act soon. "The sporting community will benefit greatly from this historic bill. "I must express my gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modiji for having such a brilliant idea about changing the sports industry," he stated.
The bill aims to establish a framework for effective governance in the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and National Sports Federations (NSFs). It mandates the establishment of a regulatory board with the authority to recognize and fund NSFs based on their compliance with good governance provisions. In addition, it will be the duty of the regulatory board to ensure that the highest governance, financial, and ethical standards are adhered to.
After lengthy discussions that lasted for several years and intensified after Mandaviya assumed control last year, the NSFs have been brought on board. The bill also proposes the establishment of Ethics Commissions and Dispute Resolution Commissions to ensure transparency in governance and cut down litigation, which sometimes leads to embarrassing showdowns between athletes and administrators over issues ranging from selection to elections.
The IOA has opposed it because it believes that a regulatory board would damage its position as the primary representative for all NSFs. P T Usha, the current president of the IOA, has even gone so far as to suggest that the International Olympic Committee might suspend India for government interference.
However, Mandaviya claims that the IOC was consulted when the proposed legislation was written. India's bid to host the Olympics in 2036 requires the IOC's support. During his time in the sports ministry, Rijiju advocated for greater accountability and autonomy for sports administrators. He stated that he is confident that the bill will pass the Parliament without a hitch. "The Khelo Bharat Niti and the anti-doping amendment bill are two additional things. "We will discuss these two bills (anti-doping and sports governance) together in the Parliament, and I am sure that the members will participate," he stated. "A new sporting culture will emerge in the country once the new sports bill is passed." He added, "Khelo India has already promoted sports culture in the nation."

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) raised objections to the implementation of the anti-doping act, which was initially passed in 2022. The World Anti-Doping Organization objected to the establishment of a National Board for Anti-Doping in Sports with the authority to recommend anti-doping regulations to the government.

The Board had the authority to oversee the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) and even issue directions to it. It was to have a Chairperson and two members appointed by the central government. This provision was rejected by WADA as government interference in an independent body. In order to comply with WADA, this provision has been removed from the amended bill.