Revised NSF Assistance Scheme Gets Rs 7,386.74 Crore Outlay

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on 16 October 2026 released the operational guidelines for the revised Scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations (ANSF). The Government has cleared the scheme for a further five years, from 2026-27 to 2030-31, which is the 16th Finance Commission cycle, at a total outlay of Rs 7,386.74 crore. Norms of assistance for the different components of the scheme have been revised along with the guidelines.

What the scheme pays for

ANSF is the main channel through which the Centre prepares Indian athletes for the Olympic Games, the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games, the Paralympic Games and World Championships. It meets the cost of national coaching camps, training in academies, and athlete support such as boarding, lodging, kits, insurance and sports science services. It also funds foreign coaches, High Performance Directors, physiotherapists, sports scientists and doctors, foreign exposure trips, Senior, Junior and Sub-Junior National Championships, grassroots and junior development, and the administrative and governance costs of the federations.

New components in the revised scheme

Fresh components have been added with an eye on the Commonwealth Games 2030 and India's bid for the 2036 Olympics:

• Hosting international events: a federation can now receive up to Rs 50 crore for staging an international tournament in India, the amount depending on the event's importance and the number of countries and athletes taking part. Proposals go to a committee headed by the Secretary (Sports).
• Olympic Training Centres: single-sport centres fitted with modern sports science equipment are to be set up so that elite athletes depend less on training abroad. Athletes at these centres will get coaches, technical staff, sports science services and specialised equipment.
• National Games: up to Rs 50 crore can be given for conducting the Games, covering equipment, timing, scoring and result services and payments to technical officials.
• Indigenous sports: support to federations of traditional Indian games so they can push for demonstration status at the Olympics, Asian Games or Commonwealth Games and set up national bodies in other countries.

Global South and multilateral sport

The revised scheme also lets India use its High Performance Centres, both inside and outside the Sports Authority of India network, to train athletes and coaches from Global South countries through scholarships and subsidised access. Money has been provided for sports competitions, conferences, meetings, research and workshops held for multilateral groupings such as BRICS and BIMSTEC, and for backing recognised international or continental sports bodies that keep offices in India.