The national sports federations (NSFs) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have reasons to cheer about the government's decision to amend some clauses in the National Sports Governance Bill 2025.

The bill was tabled in the Lok Sabha by sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya on July 23.

The BCCI has been kept out of the Right to Information (RTI) Act ambit since it does not take any grant from the government.

For NSFs, there is good news too. A person who is a sportsperson of outstanding merit or has served as an executive member of an NSF or served as a president/secretary/treasurer of any affiliated unit of an NSF for one term is now eligible to contest the election.

Earlier, the eligibility criteria was a sportsperson of outstanding merit or, one who has previously served as a member of the executive committee for at least two full terms.

This will open doors for a lot of high-profile leaders of the present dispensation who were earlier deemed ineligible since they were not members of an executive committee for two terms.

“It should bring cheer to those who have served one and is in the middle of their second term. They can contest elections now,” an official said on Wednesday.

“The amendments will make everyone happy,” he added.

The clause 15(2) of the bill stated that “a recognised sports organisation shall be considered as a public authority under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, with respect to the exercise of its functions, duties and powers under this Act.”

However, from now on it will be read as “A recognised sports organisation, receiving grants or any other financial assistance from the Central Government under sub-section (1) or from a State Government, shall be considered as a public authority under the Right to Information Act, 2005, with respect to utilisation of such grants or any other financial assistance.”

The RTI has been a thorny issue for the BCCI, which has opposed coming under it as it (BCCI) is not dependent on government funds, unlike a majority of other NSFs.

Call for a JPC

The Opposition parties, on Wednesday, in a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, have asked that the sports bill and the National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill 2025 be referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for further deliberations.

"A JPC would ensure more comprehensive and participatory process, allowing for careful scrutiny of the provisions..." the letter stated.