Parliament Question: Development of Water Sports Infrastructure

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.5822 ANSWERED ON 30.03.2026 DEVELOPMENT OF WATER SPORTS INFRASTRUCTURE 5822. SHRI CAPTAIN BRIJESH CHOWTA: Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state: (a) the current status of water sports infrastructure for scuba diving, diving, surfing, parasailing, canoeing and other water sports in Coastal Karnataka; (b) whether it is a fact that the National Institute of Water Sports in Goa is the only Government facility for water sports training in South Asia and whether the Government has taken any steps to establish similar facilities in the country and if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise; (c) whether Dakshin Kannada district is being considered for development of water sports infrastructure; (d) the details of Khelo India Water Sports Festival 2025 at Dal Lake including participation statistics and sports names; (e) whether 111 declared National Waterways are being explored for water sports beyond river cruise tourism through coordination with Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways; (f) the details of safety standards and adventure tourism guidelines for water sports operators, enforcement mechanisms along with compliance status; and (g) the details of roadmap for expanding water sports infrastructure to promote adventure tourism? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF TOURISM (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT) (a) to (b): The Ministry of Tourism through it’s autonomous institute “National Institute of Water Sports (NIWS–IITTM)” conducts courses related to scuba diving, diving, surfing, parasailing, canoeing and other water sports. NIWS-IITTM is the nodal Government institution for training, certification and capacity building in water sports in India.At present, no formal proposal is with the Ministry of Tourism for development of water sports infrastructure in Coastal Karnataka. However, some States/UTs such as Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Gujarat and Odisha have approached NIWS–IITTM for establishment of satellite centres to support capacity building and safe water-based tourism. Further, under the "Creation and Up-gradation of Sports Infrastructure" component of the Khelo India Scheme (KIS) and National Sports Development Funds (NSDF), financial assistance have been provided for development of sports infrastructure such as synthetic athletic track, synthetic hockey field, synthetic turf football ground, multipurpose hall, swimming pool etc. Projects have been sanctioned across the country including 01 project of Swimming Pool in the State of Karnataka. The details of the sports infrastructure projects approved and their sanctioned cost, funds released and their physical and financial progress, under the KIS and NSDF, across the country including in the State of Karnataka are available in public domain on the dashboards of the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports at https://mdsd.kheloindia.gov.in and at http://www.nsdf.yas.gov.in/nsdf-glance.html, respectively. (c): At present, no formal proposal is with the Ministry of Tourism for development of water sports infrastructure at Dakshin Kannada district. (d): First edition of the Khelo India Water Sports Festival was held from 21st August to 23rd August 2025 in Srinagar, UT of Jammu and Kashmir to promote Water Sports and to enhance the reach and popularity of Water Sports. The Games were conducted in 2 competitive sports and 3 Demo Sports with the participation of 409 Athletes, 82 Support Staff, 65 Technical Officials, 55 Sports Specific Volunteers, 2 Competition Managers etc. The key features of the Khelo India Water Sports Festival (KIWSF) 2025 are as follows: Sports Discipline: • Competitive: Kayaking & Canoeing, Rowing (2 Sports) • Demo: Water Skiing, Shikara Race & Dragon Boat (3 Sports) Age Category: Open Age Category. Top three States in the Medal Tally:-State Gold Silver Bronze Total Madhya Pradesh 10 3 5 18 Odisha 4 5 1 10 Kerala 3 1 3 7 (e): At present, no formal proposal is with the Ministry of Tourism for exploring 111 declared National Waterways for water sports. However, several National Waterways are already being utilized for water sports activities by respective State Governments. These include, inter alia: Ganga (Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand), Sutlej (Himachal Pradesh), Indus (Ladakh), Chenab, Godavari, Kaveri, Krishna, Mahanadi, Narmada, Sabarmati, Netravati, Sharavati, Tungabhadra, Mandovi, Chapora, Ghataprabha, Ravi and canal systems in Kerala. (f): The details are as under: • Safety Standards and Guidelines: NIWS–IITTM has developed comprehensive safety standards and SOPs for various water sports activities. These have been adopted/incorporated by several States/UTs in their respective water sports and adventure tourism policies. Technical support has been provided to States/UTs such as Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Goa, Gujarat, Odisha and Puducherry. • Enforcement Mechanism: Enforcement of safety regulations rests with the respective State/UT Governments. These include Tourist Police in Goa, Tourist Safety Enforcement Team (TSET) in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, State and District-level Adventure Tourism Committees in Gujarat and Odisha. • Compliance Status: Compliance is monitored by State/UT authorities through periodic inspections, audits and enforcement teams as per their respective guidelines. (g): The proposals received from the State/UT Governments and other eligible entities are considered for financial support, subject to their completeness, technical feasibility, risk assessments and carrying capacity analysis for coastal areas, rivers, reservoirs and lakes and availability of funds under the Scheme. ******