The question
How does the Union government's spending on sport line up with India's results at the Asian Games, and what can the public record say about the link between them?
The record supports three bounded findings.
First, the Union allocation for the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) rose from ₹1,219 crore in 2013–14 to ₹4,479.88 crore in 2026–27, roughly 3.7 times in nominal terms [1][2]. Second, the ministry's budget in the year of each of the last four Asian Games did not rise in step with India's medal totals.
Third, for several years the ministry's actual or revised spending has come in below its budget. The record does not establish that spending caused any change in medals.
All rupee figures are nominal. No inflation adjustment is applied, so real growth is lower than the nominal growth shown.
How central sports spending has changed
MYAS was allocated ₹4,479.88 crore in the 2026–27 Budget, up from ₹1,219 crore in 2013–14 [1]. The ministry covers both sport and youth affairs [2]. Its 2026–27 total includes youth-oriented lines such as the National Service Scheme (₹357.39 crore) and Mera Yuva Bharat (₹655.22 crore) [2].
Selected sports lines in the 2026–27 Budget Estimate [2]:
Line | ₹ crore (BE 2026–27) |
Khelo India | 924.35 |
Sports Authority of India | 917.38 |
Promotion of Sports Goods Manufacturing (new line) | 500.00 |
Assistance to National Sports Federations | 425.00 |
Commonwealth Games | 50.00 |
Of the ministry's ₹4,479.88 crore, ₹4,461.51 crore is classed as revenue expenditure and ₹18.37 crore as capital [2].
On future commitments, the Union Cabinet approved an expanded Khelo India Scheme and enhanced assistance to national sports federations on 31 July 2026, with a combined outlay of ₹36,441 crore for 2026–27 to 2030–31 [8]. The government's release describes the outlay as nearly eight times that of the previous Khelo India Scheme [8].
Budgeted versus actual spending
The table shows the ministry's Budget Estimate (BE) against outturn for the years in which both figures appear in the sources cited. "Outturn" is actual expenditure unless marked RE (Revised Estimate).
Year | BE (₹ crore) | Outturn (₹ crore) | Outturn as % of BE |
2013–14 | 1,219 | 1,123 | 92% |
2014–15 | 1,769 | 1,121 | 63% |
2015–16 | 1,541 | 1,423 | 92% |
2016–17 | 1,592 | 1,574 | 99% |
2017–18 | 1,943 | 1,689 | 87% |
2018–19 | 2,196 | 2,002 (RE) | 91% |
2021–22 | 2,596.14 | 2,757.02 (RE) | 106% |
2024–25 | 3,442.32 | 2,710.73 | 79% |
2025–26 | 3,794.30 | 3,346.54 (RE) | 88% |
Sources: 2013–14 to 2018–19 [6]; 2021–22 [3]; 2024–25 BE [4] and actual [2]; 2025–26 [2]. Percentages are calculated from the figures shown.
The budget documents show a comparable gap on the flagship line. Khelo India was budgeted at ₹1,000 crore in 2025–26 and revised to ₹700 crore, after an actual of ₹620.75 crore in 2024–25. The 2026–27 Budget Estimate is ₹924.35 crore [2]. The documents do not state the reason for these differences.
India's Asian Games record and the ministry's budget in each Games year
Edition | Financial year | MYAS Budget Estimate (₹ crore) | India's medals (gold) | Rank |
Guangzhou 2010 | 2010–11 | 3,565 [6] | 65 (14) [10][13] | 6 |
Incheon 2014 | 2014–15 | 1,769 [6] | 57 (11) [11] | 8 |
Jakarta-Palembang 2018 | 2018–19 | 2,196 [6] | 70 (16) [9][10] | 8 |
Hangzhou 2023 | 2023–24 | 3,397.32 [5] | 106 (28) [9] | 4 |
Contested figure. India's 2018 total is reported as 70 medals (16 gold) in Olympics.com and The Bridge [9][10]. Reports published at the time of the Games gave 69 medals (15 gold, 24 silver, 30 bronze) [12]. Both are shown, and this article does not resolve the difference. Sources for 2014 agree on 57 medals and 11 gold but split the silver and bronze totals differently, so the split is not reported here [11].
Read side by side, the two series do not move in step. The Budget Estimate in the 2010–11 Games year (₹3,565 crore) was higher than in the 2023–24 Games year (₹3,397.32 crore), while India's medal totals were 65 and 106 respectively. Between 2014–15 and 2023–24, the Budget Estimate rose from ₹1,769 crore to ₹3,397.32 crore, and medals rose from 57 to 106.
Counter-evidence and limits
The 2010–11 figure includes a hosting year. India hosted the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010. A 2023 PIB release described the 2023–24 allocation as the highest since 2010, when those Games were held [5]. The 2010–11 Budget Estimate therefore reflects a hosting year and is not a clean measure of spending on athlete preparation.
The ministry's total covers more than elite sport. It includes youth-affairs lines, as noted above [2]. A rise in the total does not by itself show a rise in spending on elite sport.
Figures across years are not fully like-for-like. The 2013–14 figure combined a plan component (₹1,093 crore) and a non-plan component (₹126 crore) [7]. The 2026–27 document presents the ministry's spending by revenue and capital [2]. Between 2025–26 and 2026–27 the allocations for two youth bodies also changed sharply: Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan from ₹423.00 crore (RE) to ₹1.02 crore, and Mera Yuva Bharat from ₹66.78 crore (RE) to ₹655.22 crore [2]. The documents do not explain the shift, and this article does not.
Spending and results are separated in time. Money allocated in a given year cannot have affected a result in the same year. The Games-year table matches spending and medals for orientation only.
Central spending is only part of the picture. State budgets and non-budgetary funding are outside the figures used here.
Editions are not identical. Contingent sizes and the number of events differ between Games and are not normalised in this article. The Hangzhou contingent was reported as about 650 athletes [15].
Medal totals are reported figures. As the 2018 and 2014 notes above show, published totals for the same edition can differ.
What the evidence does and doesn't establish
The public record shows that the ministry's nominal allocation rose between 2013–14 and 2026–27. It shows that actual or revised spending came in below the Budget Estimate in several years, including 79% of budget in 2024–25 and 63% in 2014–15. It shows that India's medal totals at the last four Asian Games were 65, 57, 70 and 106, and that the ministry's budget in those Games years was not monotonic (₹3,565, ₹1,769, ₹2,196 and ₹3,397.32 crore).
It does not show that spending caused the medal gains, or that the reverse is true. It does not cover state or private funding. It says nothing about the 2026 Games, which are still in progress.
Endnotes
PIB, The Making of a Sporting Nation: Khelo India and the Road to International Excellence, 3 August 2026. https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2026/aug/doc202683941901.pdf
Ministry of Finance, Expenditure Budget 2026-27, Notes on Demands for Grants, Demand No. 102, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/doc/eb/sbe102.pdf
Ministry of Finance, Expenditure Budget 2022-23, Notes on Demands for Grants, Demand No. 102. https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/budget2022-23/doc/eb/sbe102.pdf
Ministry of Finance, Expenditure Budget 2024-25 (Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports total, Budget 2024-25; copy hosted by CBGA India). https://www.cbgaindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Expenditure-Budget-2024-25.pdf
PIB, "Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports receives Budget allocation of Rs. 3397.32 crore for FY 2023-24," PRID 1895711. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1895711
PRS Legislative Research, Demand for Grants Analysis: Youth Affairs and Sports (compiled from Union Budgets; Tier 2). https://prsindia.org/budgets/parliament/demand-for-grants-analysis-youth-affairs-and-sports
Deccan Herald, "Sports budget gets marginal hike," interim budget 2014-15 (Tier 2). https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/sports-budget-gets-marginal-hike-376481.html
Prime Minister's Office, "Cabinet approves revamped Khelo India Scheme and enhanced Assistance to National Sports Federations (ANSFs)," 31 July 2026. https://www.pmindia.gov.in/?p=16891532
Olympics.com, "India at Asian Games: Know the history, results and medals won," 9 October 2023 (Tier 2). https://www.olympics.com/en/news/india-at-asian-games-history-medals
The Bridge, "India's history at Asian Games – From 1951 to 2022" (Tier 2). https://thebridge.in/asian-games/india-asian-games-medal-record-history-57603
India.com, "Asian Games 2014 Medal Table," 4 October 2014 (Tier 2). https://www.india.com/sports/asian-games-2014-medal-table-complete-medal-tally-of-17th-incheon-asian-games-country-wise-updated-140668/
The Asian Age, "A glittering end to Asian Games," 3 September 2018 (Tier 2). https://www.pressreader.com/india/the-asian-age/20180903/283729840154474
Business Today, "Asian Games 2018: Indian athletes clinches 24 medals," 24 August 2018 (Tier 2; cited for the 2010 result). https://businesstoday.in/amp/panorama/photo/asian-games-2018-india-medals-gold-silver-bronze-5707-2018-08-24
ESPN, "India's medals at Asian Games 2026: Live tracker" (cited for Games dates only). https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/49986455/india-medals-asian-games-2026-live-tracker
Olympics.com, "Asian Games 2026: India medal tally and winners list" (cited for the Hangzhou contingent size). https://www.olympics.com/en/news/asian-games-2026-medal-tally-india-winners-table-list
