Up to ₹12 lakh a year and a shot at Olympic glory — that is the offer on the table for India's emerging sportspersons under the IndianOil Acers Sports Scholarship Programme, and the clock is ticking. The Chief Minister's Office of Assam announced on Friday, 6 November 2026, that Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma has appreciated the initiative, spotlighting it for athletes across the country.

300 scholarships, 25 disciplines, one deadline

The programme offers 300 scholarships spread across 25 sports disciplines, with annual financial assistance ranging from ₹3.6 lakh to ₹12 lakh depending on the athlete's level and discipline. Eligible sportspersons can apply through the official portal at iocl.com, with the application window closing on 25 November 2026 — leaving aspirants fewer than three weeks to submit their entries.

The tiered scholarship structure is designed to cover a broad spectrum: grassroots talent at the lower band and elite-track athletes at the higher end. For a young javelin thrower in Assam or a wrestler in Haryana without institutional backing, the difference between ₹3.6 lakh and zero can mean the difference between a career and a dropout.

PSU sports funding: a quiet but steady pipeline

Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), one of India's largest public sector undertakings, has been channelling CSR funds into athlete support since the early 2000s. The Acers programme is its structured flagship for talent identification — running parallel to, and often bridging gaps left by, government schemes like Khelo India. Where state machinery can be slow and competitive slots limited, PSU scholarships like these move with corporate agility and broader reach.

CM Sarma, who has consistently positioned Assam as a state serious about youth development since taking office in 2021, lending his public endorsement amplifies the programme's visibility well beyond corporate communications. His appreciation signals an alignment between state sporting ambitions and central PSU resources — the kind of institutional nudge that can meaningfully lift application numbers from the Northeast.

What athletes need to know before 25 November

Interested sportspersons should visit iocl.com directly to check eligibility criteria, discipline-wise scholarship bands, and documentation requirements. The programme targets young athletes yet to reach their peak — the precise demographic that falls through the cracks between school-level recognition and senior national selection. With 25 disciplines on the list, the net is wide enough to catch talent from combat sports, track and field, aquatics, and team games alike.

Selection results after the November deadline will be the real test of the programme's reach — particularly whether it draws significantly from states like Assam where grassroots sporting infrastructure is growing but financial support for individual athletes remains uneven.