Parliament Question: Participation of women and girls in sports

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF YOUTH AFFAIRS & SPORTS (DEPARTMENT OF SPORTS) RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 4476 ANSWERED ON- 02/04/2026 PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN SPORTS 4476. SHRI HARBHAJAN SINGH Will the Minister of YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS be pleased to state :- (a) whether the Ministry has launched any specific schemes to increase the participation of women and girls in sports; (b) if so, the details thereof; and (c) whether Government has issued any guidelines or allocated funds to improve sports facilities in schools, colleges and universities and how many institutions have been benefited so far, including in Punjab? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF YOUTH AFFAIRS & SPORTS (DR. MANSUKH MANDAVIYA) (a) and (b) ‘Sports’ being a State subject, the responsibility for development of sports, including increasing participation of women and girls in sports and improvement of sports facilities in schools, colleges and universities, rests primarily with the respective State/Union Territory Governments. The Union Government supplements these efforts by bridging critical gaps. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports implements the following schemes for promotion of sports in the country, including in the State of Punjab: i. Khelo India – National Programme for Development of Sports; ii. Assistance to National Sports Federations (NSFs); iii. Cash Incentives to Medal Winners in International Sports Events and their coaches; iv. National Sports Awards; v. Pension to Meritorious Sportspersons; vi. Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay National Welfare Program for Sportspersons; vii. National Sports Development Fund; viii. Running Sports Training centres through Sports Authority of India (SAI); and ix. National Centre for Sports Science and Research (NCSSR). Details of the above schemes are available in the public domain on the websites of this Ministry and the Sports Authority of India. Further, the sub-component “Sports for women” of “Promotion of Inclusiveness through Sports” component of the Khelo India Scheme promotes and encourage participation of women and girls in sports across the country. Accordingly, Khelo India Women League was started in 2021 to offer opportunities to women for participating & excelling in sporting activities. It was renamed as Page 1 of 2ASMITA League which Stands for “Achieving Sports Milestone by Inspiring Women Through Action”. Under this initiative, various Khelo India Women’s Leagues are being conducted. As on date, more than 2600 ASMITA leagues have been organised in more than 34 sports disciplines across the country, which has seen participation from more than 3,00,000 women athletes. This initiative has significantly increased women participation in sports across the nation and has provided ample opportunities to women athletes to compete, learn and grow in all age groups. (c) The Khelo India Scheme and National Sports Development Fund (NSDF), implemented by this Ministry, under which financial assistance for development of sports infrastructure is provided are demand-driven schemes. The proposals received from the State/ Union Territory Governments and other eligible entities are considered for financial support, subject to their completeness, technical feasibility and availability of funds under the scheme. The details of the sports infrastructure projects approved and their sanctioned cost, funds released and their physical and financial progress, under the Khelo India Scheme and National Sports Development Funds (NSDF), across the country, including in State of Punjab, are available in public domain on the dashboards of the Ministry at https://mdsd.kheloindia.gov.in and http://www.nsdf.yas.gov.in/nsdf-glance.html, respectively. **** Page 2 of 2