To excel at Global Stage, Sports as Peoples’ Movement for Economic, Social Development
New Delhi, 01 July 2025 (PIB): The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi today approved the the National Sports Policy (NSP) 2025, a landmark initiative aimed at reshaping the country’s sporting landscape and empowering citizens through sports.
The new policy supersedes the existing National Sports Policy, 2001, and lays out a visionary and strategic roadmap to establish India as a global sporting powerhouse and a strong contender for excellence at international sporting events, including the 2036 Olympic Games.
The NSP 2025 is the outcome of extensive consultations involving Central Ministries, NITI Aayog, State Governments, National Sports Federations (NSFs), athletes, domain experts, and public stakeholders. The policy is anchored on five key pillars.
1. Excellence on the Global Stage
This pillar aims to:
· Strengthen sports programs from the grassroots to elite levels, including mechanisms for early identification and nurturing of talent.
· Promote the establishment of competitive leagues and competitions, and develop sports infrastructure in both rural and urban areas.
· Build world-class systems for training, coaching, and holistic athlete support.
· Enhance the capacity and governance of National Sports Federations.
· Encourage the adoption of sports science, sports science, medicine, and technology to boost athletic performance.
· Train and develop sports personnel, including coaches, technical officials, and support staff.
2. Sports for Economic Development
NSP 2025 recognizes the economic potential of sports and seeks to:
· Promote sports tourism and attract major international events to India.
· Strengthen the sports manufacturing ecosystem, and promote startups and entrepreneurship in the sector.
· Encourage private sector participation through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and innovative funding initiatives.
3. Sports for Social Development
The policy emphasizes the role of sports in driving social inclusion by:
· Promoting participation among women, economically weaker sections, tribal communities, and persons with disabilities through focused programs.
· Revitalizing and promoting indigenous and traditional games.
· Positioning sports as a viable career option by integrating it into education, encouraging volunteering, and facilitating dual-career pathways.
· Engaging the Indian diaspora through sports.
4. Sports as a People’s Movement
To make sports a national movement, the policy aims to:
· Drive mass participation and a culture of fitness through nationwide campaigns and community-based events.
· Launch fitness indices for schools, colleges, and workplaces etc.
· Enhance universal access to sports facilities.
5. Integration with Education (NEP 2020)
In alignment with the National Education Policy 2020, the NSP 2025 proposes to:
· Integrate sports into school curricula.
· Equip educators and physical education teachers with specialized training to promote sports education and awareness.
6. Strategic Framework
To realise its objectives, the NSP 2025 lays down a comprehensive implementation strategy encompassing:
· Governance: Establish a robust regulatory framework for sports governance, including legal framework.
· Private Sector Funding & support: Develop innovative financing mechanisms and engage private sector participation through PPPs and CSR.
· Technology & Innovation: Leverage emerging technologies, including AI and data analytics, for performance tracking, research, and program implementation.
· National Monitoring Framework: Create a national framework with well-defined benchmarks, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and time-bound targets.
· Model Policy for States: The NSP 2025 will serve as a model for States and Union Territories, encouraging them to revise or formulate their own policies in alignment with national objectives.
· Whole-of-Government Approach: The policy calls for integration of sports promotion into the activities, schemes, and programs of all Ministries and Departments to achieve a holistic impact.
With its structured vision and forward-looking strategy, National Sports Policy 2025 sets India on a transformative path toward becoming a leading sporting nation globally, while creating healthier, more engaged, and empowered citizens.
Cabinet nod for Employment Linked Incentive Scheme
New Delhi, Jul 1: Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday said that the Union Cabinet that met on Tuesday under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s chairmanship approved Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme to boost job creation, incentivize first-time employees and strengthen social security for the workforce in the country.
With an outlay of Rs. 99446 crore, the ELI Scheme will support creation of over 3.5 crore jobs, Vaishnaw said.
Gives details on the Employment Linked Incentive Scheme approved by the Union Cabinet, the Union Minister said, “…The focus of the Employment Linked Incentive Scheme will be on the manufacturing sector. It has two parts; part one is for first timers and part two for support to sustained employment…”
Under the Scheme, while the first-time employees will get one month’s wage (up to Rs 15,000/-the employers will be given incentives for a period to two years for generating additional employment, with extended benefits for another two years for the manufacturing sector. The ELI Scheme was announced in the Union Budget 2024-25 as part of PM’s package of five schemes to facilitate employment, skilling and other opportunities for 4.1 Crore youth with a total budget outlay of Rs 2 Lakh Crore.
With an outlay of Rs 99,446 Crore, the ELI Scheme aims to incentivize the creation of more than 3.5 Crore jobs in the country, over a period of 2 years. Out of these, 1.92 Crore beneficiaries will be first timers, entering the workforce. The benefits of the Scheme would be applicable to jobs created between 01st August 2025 and 31st July, 2027.
The Scheme consists of two parts with Part A focused on first timers and Part B focused on employers:
Targeting first-time employees registered with EPFO, this Part will offer one-month EPF wage up to Rs 15,000 in two installments. Employees with salaries up to Rs 1 lakh will be eligible. The 1st installment will be payable after 6 months of service and the 2nd installment will be payable after 12 months of service and completion of a financial literacy programme by the employee. To encourage the habit of saving, a portion of the incentive will be kept in a savings instrument of deposit account for a fixed period and can be withdrawn by the employee at a later date.
The Part A will benefit around 1.92 crore first time employees.
This part will cover generation of additional employment in all sectors, with a special focus on the manufacturing sector. The employers will get incentives in respect of employees with salaries up to Rs 1 lakh. The Government will incentivize employers, up to Rs 3000 per month, for two years, for each additional employee with sustained employment for at least six months. For the manufacturing sector, incentives will be extended to the 3rd and 4th years as well.
Establishments, which are registered with EPFO, will be required to hire at least two additional employees (for employers with less than 50 employees) or five additional employees (for employers with 50 or more employees), on a sustained basis for at least six months.
All payments to the First Time Employees under Part A of the Scheme will be made through DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) mode using Aadhar Bridge Payment System (ABPS). Payments to the Employers under Part B will be made directly into their PAN-linked Accounts.
With ELI Scheme, the government intends to catalyse job creation in all sectors, particularly in manufacturing sector, besides incentivizing youth joining the workforce for the first time. An important outcome of the Scheme will also be formalization of the country’s workforce by extending social security coverage for crores of young men and women.
