Crores meant for Indian athletes spent on bureaucrats’ sports facilities: Report

An investigation by The Indian Express has raised serious questions over how India’s National Sports Development Fund (NSDF), a fund originally created to support athletes and sporting infrastructure, was allegedly used to finance luxury sports facilities for bureaucrats, civil service institutions and other non-traditional beneficiaries.

According to records examined by the newspaper over five years, along with RTI documents and interviews with current and former government officials, crores of rupees from the NSDF were diverted towards projects linked to bureaucrats’ residential colonies, civil service clubs and even overseas cricket boards.

Sports funds reach bureaucrats’ colonies

The NSDF, established in 1998 under the Charitable Endowments Act, was designed to help Indian athletes access elite training, international exposure, coaching and sports science support. The fund also backs major initiatives such as the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), which supports India’s top medal prospects.

However, the investigation found that between 2021 and 2025, more than Rs 6.2 crore from the fund was released to projects linked to the Civil Services Officers’ Institute (CSOI), the Central Civil Services Cultural and Sports Board (CCSCSB) and the New Moti Bagh Residential Complex in Delhi.

More from Sports

One of the most striking examples highlighted was the New Moti Bagh sports complex, a high-end facility located inside one of Delhi’s most exclusive government housing colonies for senior bureaucrats. Records reportedly show that in June 2024, the NSDF approved a Rs 2.2 crore grant for renovation and upgradation of sports infrastructure at the complex.

The facility includes wooden-floor badminton courts, squash courts, a temperature-controlled swimming pool, gymnasium, billiards room and tennis courts. Notably, the same complex had already received Rs 2.8 crore under the Khelo India scheme in 2019 for sports infrastructure creation.

The second instalment of the NSDF grant — around Rs 88 lakh — reportedly came in 2025-26, a period when contributions to the sports fund had sharply declined. Data cited in the report states that contributions to the NSDF dropped from Rs 85.26 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 37.02 crore in 2025-26.

Bureaucrats approve sports spending for themselves

The Indian Express investigation also revealed that the committee approving these grants consists largely of bureaucrats operating within the same administrative system that eventually benefits from the allocations. While the NSDF is governed by a 12-member council under the Union Sports Minister, grant proposals are reportedly cleared by a six-member committee of Sports Ministry officials.

The findings drew attention from a Parliamentary Standing Committee as well. In a report tabled in Lok Sabha in August 2025, the committee reportedly warned against using sports funds for residential colonies and civil service bodies.

“The Committee recommends that this practice should be avoided,” the report said while urging stricter regulation of the NSDF.

Apart from bureaucratic institutions, the report also flagged grants to organisations affiliated with the RSS. Records cited by the investigation showed that approximately Rs 2.66 crore was released to two such organisations in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh for sports infrastructure and tournaments from a sanctioned amount of over Rs 5 crore.

In Rajasthan, the Vanvasi Kalyan Parishad in Udaipur reportedly received funds for a spectator gallery, athletic track resurfacing and a football practice ground. Meanwhile, a Chhattisgarh-based organisation linked to tribal welfare reportedly received grants for conducting competitions and tournaments.

The probe also questioned why NSDF money was used to procure cricket equipment as “gifts” for cricket boards in countries such as Jamaica, Maldives and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Around Rs 1.08 crore was reportedly spent on these procurements.

A former Sports Ministry official quoted in the report described the use of NSDF funds for bureaucratic facilities as “unethical”, especially if those facilities were not fully accessible to the general public.

The same official reportedly questioned the logic behind using taxpayer-backed sports development money to support cricket abroad when the Indian government itself does not directly fund cricket domestically.

Despite the controversy, some grants highlighted in the investigation were directly connected to sports development. The report noted that significant NSDF money was also spent on athlete hostels, high-performance centres and academies, including funding for the SAI-Gopichand Academy and the Rohan Bopanna Tennis Development Foundation.

Officials associated with the New Moti Bagh project defended the spending, arguing that sports infrastructure inside residential colonies promotes fitness, mental health and sporting culture among residents and children.

However, the larger debate triggered by the investigation centres around priorities and accountability. At a time when Indian athletes continue to demand better infrastructure, coaching support and funding transparency, questions are now being asked about whether a fund meant for sporting excellence should be financing elite facilities for administrators.

The Sports Ministry has not responded to queries sent by the newspaper.