New Delhi: Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports and Labor and Employment, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya started the distribution of sports certificates through DigiLocker at Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi. Before the inauguration, he had inaugurated the National Center for Sports Science and Research (NCSSR) at the same place. Dr. addressing the gathering present on this occasion. Mandaviya confirmed the government’s commitment to the welfare of athletes and said that all the sports initiatives taken by the Modi government are athlete-centric. Citing the examples of the National Sports Governance Bill 2024, Draft National Sports Policy 2024 and Draft National Code Against Age Fraud in Sports (NCAAFS) 2025, the Minister said that these reflect the government’s resolve to ensure transparency, fairness and good governance in the Indian sports ecosystem.
He had announced that, sports certificates issued through DigiLocker will soon be integrated with the National Sports Repository System (NSRS). Which will enable automatic distribution of government cash awards into the bank accounts of sportspersons through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), thereby eliminating the need for paper applications. “What used to happen in the past was that athletes had to apply for government cash awards after winning medals at international competitions. I do not want athletes to suffer or face any hurdles in getting their well-deserved rewards. So, these initiatives are meant to make it easier. If everyone has seen them winning medals at the international level, then why do they need to apply,” the Union Minister said.
Throwing light on future plans, Dr. Mandaviya talked about the comprehensive roadmap implemented to support India’s bid to host the 2036 Olympics. He reiterated India’s interest in organizing the Commonwealth Games in the year 2030. Appealing to the National Sports Federation (NSF) to give priority to good governance and welfare of athletes, the Union Minister appealed for joint efforts by athletes, federations and the government to strengthen the sports system. As a step in this direction, he had announced that interested NSFs will be provided office space at IG Stadium in Delhi.
Dr. Mandaviya had also announced to launch ‘One Sport-One Corporate’ policy in the future. The objective of which is to provide handholding facilities to the federation and attract financial assistance for the development of sports. Apart from this, he added that, apart from this, Olympic training centers for high priority sports disciplines will be developed under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. At the inauguration of NCSSR, Dr. Mandaviya had said that this center will work as a center of high level research, education and innovation, the aim of which is to increase the visibility of elite athletes. He stressed that such initiatives will play an important role in fulfilling India’s long-term sports vision under the leadership of a developed India by the year 2047. Dr. Mandaviya concluded by saying, “Let us all together build a strong sports culture for the new India.”
Praising this initiative of the government, Olympic silver medalist and Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna awardee Mirabai Chanu said, “This is a really good scheme for the sportspersons. Providing sports certificates through DigiLocker will remove a lot of stress for all the sportspersons like me. Many times sportspersons have to return home for some documents – for government jobs, visas etc. because we do not always keep them with us. I thank all the sportspersons and our Sports Minister for this initiative.” I agree.”
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