National Sports Policy (NSP) 2025
▪ NSP 2025 aims to build a new sporting culture by mainstreaming sports as part of national
development.
▪ Five Pillars Approach:
✓ Sports excellence
✓ Social and economic development through sports
✓ Sports as a people’s movement
✓ Sports culture promotion
✓ Alignment with National Education Policy (NEP) 2020
▪ Unlike the basic 2001 policy, NSP 2025 incorporates sports science, technology, innovation, and economic dimensions (e.g., CSR funding, sports startups, tourism).
▪ Supports India’s ambition to host Commonwealth Games 2030 and Olympics 2036, while
building a self-sustaining sports economy.
▪ Emphasises early talent identification, professional training in schools, and making sports a viable career option.
▪ Strong alignment with NEP 2020 by integrating sports and academics, promoting sports for all, and encouraging equal importance to physical education.
▪ Expands focus to include women, differently-abled, and economically weaker sections, beyond rural/tribal areas, making sports a tool for social transformation.
▪ Seeks to use sports as a catalyst for inclusive development and national progress.
India’s linguistic secularism
▪ According to the 2011 Census, India has 121 languages and 270 mother tongues.
▪ While religion and language are the two most crucial aspects of any culture, these are also the
predominant cross-cultural barriers.
▪ Article 29 ensures minority groups can protect their language, script, or culture, and prohibits
language-based discrimination.
▪ Unlike Western secularism, India’s model includes protection of both religious and linguistic
diversity as a constitutional principle.
▪ India has no national language; Hindi is only the official language of the Union (Article 343), and States can choose their own official languages.
▪ 22 languages are constitutionally recognized, covering 96.71% of the population’s mother
tongues.
▪ Protecting every language equally, promoting tolerance and liberality, is essential for maintaining India’s secular and democratic fabric.
