The National Sports Development Fund (NSDF), which is meant to be used to train athletes and build sporting infrastructure, was used "for upgradation/ renovation of sports infrastructure at New Moti Bagh Residential Complex, New Delhi", a report said. For the unversed, the residential complex in Lutyens’ Delhi is where many of the country's top bureaucrats live.
As per an investigative story published by The Indian Express, these world-class facilities were built for the use of bureaucrats using NSDF funds. Certain lesser-known cricket boards in Asia and the Caribbean and two RSS-linked institutions in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh also benefited from the diverted use of the fund, the report claimed.
The said complex built for the use of a limited number of individuals is reportedly as good as any top facility in the country. The posh setups include badminton courts with wooden flooring, a squash cubicle, a temperature-controlled swimming pool with a transparent canopy, and a couple of tennis courts, amongst others.
Making things worse, India's professional athletes are not among those with access to these incredible facilities Access is restricted to “residents of the colony, other government officers staying outside, and private citizens”. An individual interviewed by The Indian Express reportedly said that “we do proper screening, so that the right kind of people only join.”
What is the NSDF?
As per the official website, it was established in 1998 to impart momentum and flexibility to assisting the cause of sports in India.
It helps sportsperson excel by providing them with varied opportunities to train under coaches of international repute, provide financial assistance for development of infrastructure and other activities for promotion of sports.
While a 12-member council under the Union Sports Minister governs the NSDF, proposals are cleared by a six-member committee of officials under the Sports Ministry. The beneficiaries of some of these facilities built using the fund also come from the same system, the report found.
"Between 2021 and 2025, over Rs 6.2 crore from the NSDF went to the Civil Services Officers’ Institute (CSOI), the Central Civil Services Cultural and Sports Board (CCSCSB) and for the New Moti Bagh Residential Complex from a sanctioned total of over Rs 6.7 crore, Sports Ministry records show," The Indian Express report said.
Fund diversions
Around Rs 1.08 crore from the fund was spent to “procure and gift cricket items” to cricket boards in the Maldives, Jamaica, and St Vincent and the Grenadines, the daily claimed.
Elaborating on the RSS-affiliated bodies that received financial aid, the investigative report said that in 2024-25, the RSS-affiliated Vanvasi Kalyan Parishad at Kotra in Udaipur received Rs 2.41 crore. The amount was reportedly used for the construction of a spectator’s gallery with a utility building, the resurfacing of an athletic track, and a practice football ground. Likewise, the Vanvasi Kalyan Samiti in Chhattisgarh’s Jashpur received Rs 18.75 lakh to conduct national-level competitions in Raipur, and another Rs 6.25 lakh to organise a tournament.
The spending didn't go unnoticed, and a Parliamentary Standing Committee called for “greater regulations of the NSDF” in a report tabled in the Lok Sabha in August 2025. “The Committee has been given to understand that in previous years’ grants, these funds have been given to the residential colonies and civil services associations. The Committee recommends that this practice should be avoided,” it reportedly read.
As a result, the contributions to the fund fell to Rs 37.02 crore in 2025-26 from Rs 85.26 crore in 2023-24.
