National Sports Day 2025

Why in the News ? 

National Sports Day 2025, observed on August 29, holds great importance as it honors the legacy of Indian sports. hockey legend, Major Dhyan Chand, who has to his name three Olympic gold medals and he has scored more than 400 goals.

•  He is known as the ‘Wizard of Hockey’ and secured three Olympic gold medals in 1928, 1932, and 1936.
• The day brings out sports as an essential component in life and underscores the role of physical fitness, discipline in its citizens, team spirit in life, and endurance.
• It is a national challenge to the masses in order to have an active lifestyle and the significant role that sports play in shaping togetherness and patriotism.
• This was the initial event of this year 2012 in which this was celebrated. 

National Sports Day 2025 carries the theme ‘Sport to Promote Peaceful and Inclusive Societies,’ highlighting how sports can foster inclusion and harmony among people.

Key Modi Government Initiatives for Sports

The Modi government has introduced various programs to build the sports ecosystem in India with attention to developing grassroots, elite performance, infrastructure and governance. The initiatives you raised or mentioned, and also other schemes that fit these initiatives, are described below.

1. National Sports Policy (NSP) 2025

On July 1, 2025, the Khelo Bharat Niti 2025 replaces the 2001 National Sports Policy, and seeks to transform India into a global sporting power by 2047, ahead of the 2036 Olympics. Its five pillars are:

• Global Excellence: Focuses on identifying and developing talents, coaching at the world-class level, sports science and reinforcing the National Sports Federations (NSFs) to achieve foreign success.
• Economic Development: Promotes sports tourism, manufacturing, startups, and private sector involvement through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
• Social Development: Promotes inclusion by promoting women, tribal communities, weaker sections and people with disabilities, restoring the lost Indigenous games such as kho-kho and kabaddi.
• Participation of people: Mobilizes masses to engage in fitness campaigns, social activities and indexing fitness at school and work.
• Education Integration: Supports the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in that regard to integrate sports in education programs, draw to physical literacy, and sustain identification of talents in schools.

The policy is based on the whole-of-government approach, open governance, and integration of technology (e.g., AI and data analytics) that will not be financed directly to states with the idea of equal infrastructure access.

2. Khelo India Program

Khelo India is a flagship project to support grassroots sports and talent development launched in 2017. Key features include:

• Competitions: It also provides a competitive platform through organizing Khelo India Youth Games, University Games, Winter Games and Para Games.
• Talent Identification: Due to availability of talented young players, Scouts around the nation train and provide them with financial support.
• Infrastructure: Provide funding for the development and enhancement of sports facilities, especially in rural areas.
• Holistic Development: Integrates sports science, coaching, and athlete support for comprehensive growth.

It has significantly boosted opportunities for young athletes and aligns with NSP 2025’s vision.

3. Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS)

TOPS was launched in 2014 and trains top sport performers to take part in major international games such as the Olympics and Paralympics. Key aspects include:

• Financial Support: Funds training, international exposure, top coaches, and facilities.
• Sports science and medical-Smart Training: 3 to 12 days of specially designed training.
• Achievements: Contributed to India winning seven gold, two silver, and four bronze medals at Tokyo 2020, and six medals—including one silver and five bronze—at Paris 2024.

TOPS is assuring the future champions of the medals with the resources of the world.

4. National Sports Governance Bill 2025

Although there is no particular National Sports Governance Bill 2025 that is verified in the available information, NSP 2025 highlights governance changes, which probably develops the National Sports Development Code (2011). These include:

• Governance Reforms: Enhancing transparency, accountability, and efficiency in NSFs.
• Framework Monitoring: This involves setting up Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and setting targets that can be measured in a certain period of time.
• Sports Policy: Nurturing states to create sports policies that are consistent with NSP 2025.

One such bill could be expected to formalize these changes, including the autonomy of federation, athlete representation and anti doping policies.

Additional Schemes

Other initiatives complementing the above programs include:

• Fit India Movement (2019): Promotes fitness through: 
  • Campaigns like Fit India School Week, Freedom Run, and Cyclothon.
  • Fitness indices for schools, colleges, and workplaces.
  • Community engagement to make fitness a lifestyle choice.
• Sports Authority of India (SAI) Initiatives: 
  • National Centres of Excellence (NCoE): High-performance training centers.
  • SAI Training Centres (STCs) and Extension Centres: Regional hubs for talent development.
  • National Sports Talent Contest (NSTC): Identifies talent in rural and tribal areas.
• Promotion of Indigenous Games: Revives traditional sports like kho-kho, kabaddi, and mallakhamb under Khelo India and NSP 2025.
• Sports for Inclusivity: Programs to engage women, tribal communities, and persons with disabilities, including: 
  • Scholarships for female athletes.
  • Khelo India Para Games.
  • Community sports for economically weaker sections.
• Infrastructure Development: 
  • Modernizing major stadiums like Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
  • Building multi-sport complexes at block and district levels.

Critical Perspective

These undertakings are ambitious; however, there are infrastructural inadequacies in rural locations, the possibility of financial setbacks and effective implementation of governance to counter challenges such as the mismanagement of NSF. The NSP 2025 does not involve direct funding by the state, potentially causing tensions to resource-starved areas. Long term objectives such as the Olympics 2036 will be kept up through sustained investment and short-term trimester milestones (e.g. the 2036 Olympics must be won on one or more occasions).

Conclusion

The Modi government’s sports initiatives, including NSP 2025, Khelo India, TOPS, and governance reforms, provide a strong foundation to enhance India’s sports infrastructure and ecosystem, mindset and collaboration to build sports ecosystems that promote participation in sports at the grassroots up to elite performance and inclusiveness.