August 11, 2025

Hold your breath, sports lovers! The Lok Sabha has green-lit the National Sports Governance Bill, calling it the biggest sports reform since Independence. Why such excitement? Because this Bill aims to shake up the entire Indian sports world to match global standards, just in time as India plans to bid for the 2036 Olympics. Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya didn’t hold back: "It is the single biggest reform in sports since independence. This Bill will ensure accountability, ensure justice, best governance in sports federations." And there’s more—he said, "When India is going to bid for the Olympics, it is important that our sports ecosystem is robust, transparent and accountable. This is a crucial step in that direction." What’s inside this powerful Bill? First, a fresh National Sports Board (NSB) will be on the scene to keep sports bodies honest and transparent. To get government money, national sports federations must get the NSB's seal of approval. Don’t stop there—the Bill also sets up a National Sports Tribunal, a special court with big powers to settle fights over everything from team selections to federation elections. Its decisions will be final, only challengeable by the Supreme Court. Now, about cricket’s big boss, BCCI: It will certainly fall under this Bill’s coverage. But here’s the twist—BCCI is shielded from the Right to Information (RTI) rules. This happened after a recent amendment where RTI was limited to only those bodies that get government money. Since BCCI is mostly self-funded, it gets a special pass! Another spice added by the Bill deals with the age limit for sports administrators. Usually, there’s a strict age cap, but if international rules say otherwise, people aged 70 to 75 can still run for election. Flexibility is the name of the game! And wait, there’s more! On the same day, the Parliament also passed the National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill-2025 to make sports cleaner and fairer. So, with these thrilling changes, India is gearing up to polish its sports image and shine brightly on the world stage. The 2036 Olympics might just bring gold not only for athletes but also for Indian sports governance!

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Tags: National sports governance bill, Bcci, Olympics 2036, Sports reforms, Rti exemption, Sports tribunal,