In a major effort towards strengthening the Indian sports ecosystem to host the 2036 Olympic Games, Honorable Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya urged corporates to adopt one sport during the first-ever corporate round-table conference on Thursday.
Dr. Mandaviya emphasized a vision to position India among the top five global sports performers by 2047, as the nation marks 100 years of independence. Aiming to bridge the gap between aspirations and execution, he stressed the critical role of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in building sustainable sports infrastructure and talent development programs. He also proposed that PSUs from the Centre support state-level requirements to achieve sporting excellence.
“Each corporate entity should focus on a single sport to ensure dedicated attention and optimal resource allocation, while also enabling effective athlete branding to align with CSR investments and promotional activities,” Dr. Mandaviya said.
The Union Minister also asked the corporates to contribute towards upgrading sports facilities in existing district-level schools in line with the District Level Sports Schools in Gujarat. He proposed developing Olympic Training Centres, and sports academies, funding the training and coaching of Target Olympic Podium Scheme athletes, and being actively involved in the organization of national leagues in disciplines where it is yet to be staged.
More than 40 corporate houses and organizations working in the sports ecosystem shared their knowledge and opinion in a first-ever Open House session with the Sports Minister, and lauded the initiative saying that it can become a game-changer for the Indian Sports ecosystem.
Speaking after the meeting, JSW Sports MD Parth Jindal said, “This is the first time that the honorable Sports Minister spent so much time with the corporate sector – almost three hours he spent. He wanted to understand our opinion, and our view on how to take Indian sports forward. The government is already doing a lot of incredible work in sports and even the corporates are doing their bit but how to collaborate so that the athletes are happy and we can improve our medal tally at the 2036 Olympics.”
Dalmia Cement Bharat MD Puneet Dalmia also expressed his company’s interest in developing District Level Sports Schools, one of the key infrastructure development plans of the CSR partnership. “Being a father, I believe that engaging a young generation to play sports is of utmost importance with the kids spending almost 7-8 hours on mobile phones and tablets. If we want to produce a healthier and fitter generation, we have to penetrate Tier 2/3 cities and towns, where sports is still not a priority. The Dalmia Group is present in 14 states and 27 cities and we would like to develop sports infrastructure at the district level,” Mr Dalmia said.
The corporates can also become thematic partners for the Khelo India mission, Indigenous sports, para sports, and sports for women programs apart from the establishment of sports science centers and performance testing labs.