Infographic | Budget allocations for the Sports Ministry over the years

From a Commonwealth Games (CWG) campaign of many firsts to international tournament wins in hockey, badminton, and others, 2022 proved to be an encouraging one for Indian sports.

Now, with the Union Budget merely days away, many will be hoping that India's successes on the field translate to greater funding for the various programmes under the Sports Ministry.

Since 2015-16, budgetary allocations for various programmes under the Sports Ministry have largely been on an upward trend. Here's a look at the budgetary allocations to the sports ministry over the years.

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Allocations to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and allocations for assistance given to National Sports Federations have not kept pace with the government's Khelo India programme, which has seen a massive increase in budgetary allocation since 2020-21.

To put it into perspective, the budgeted estimate (BE) for Khelo India in the 2022-23 Budget was a whopping Rs 974 crore, in comparison to the Rs 653 crore Rs 280 crore allocated to SAI and the National Sports Federations, respectively.

While the increase in funding for Khelo India is a positive sign as far as the development of the sports sector is concerned, SAI and the National Sports Federations lagging behind is not particularly encouraging, especially given the fact that SAI is the nodal organisation responsible for setting up sports infrastructure, providing equipment, organising national camps, and handling logistics.

The relative lack of funding for sports in comparison to Budget allocations for other sectors has not gone unnoticed either.

In December last year, the Lok Sabha's Committee of Estimates urged the central government to give more priority to and allocate more money to the sector in order to help India emerge as a global sporting power.

"The Committee has noted that the Government has attempted to thrust a new impetus in [the] sports sector and 'Khelo India' scheme can be a turning point in the history of sports in India," the Committee had said in its report last year.

However, the Committee had noted that government had failed to substantially increase the budgetary allocation for SAI over the years, something that needs to be addressed this time around.

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"The Committee...recommends that a major thrust be given to the role of SAI as a stakeholder in the sports sector of India by increasing its budget allocation substantially," the report said.

"They are also of the considered view that the Department of Sports has to impress upon the Ministry of Finance for a substantial increase in the annual budget, especially considering the post-Covid situation," the Committee had said.

With India's post-Covid economic recovery well under way and with senior Union ministers like Amit Shah and Anurag Thakur eyeing the hosting of the 2036 Olympics in India, it remains to be seen whether calls to increase the budgetary allocation for sports are heeded in this year's Budget.