Pralhad Joshi at Clean Sports Conclave: MoU to embed sport values in schools
Synopsis
At the inaugural Clean Sports Conclave on 28 October 2026, Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi and Mansukh Mandaviya joined UNESCO's Tim Curtis to sign the SViECT MoU, committing India to embedding sport values formally in school curricula under the NEP 2020 framework and the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.
Key Takeaways
The Sport Values in Every Classroom (SViECT) MoU was signed by India's Ministry of Education , Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports , and UNESCO .
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi addressed the inaugural session of the Clean Sports Conclave on 28 October 2026 .
The MoU aligns with the National Education Policy 2020 , which emphasises holistic, value-based learning for school students.
Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and MoS Raksha Khadse of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports were also present.
The initiative is framed as a contribution to the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision of making India a developed nation by its centenary of independence.
Key next step: rollout of the SViECT framework across state school systems and issuance of follow-up curriculum guidelines.
Sport is no longer just an extracurricular afterthought — it is heading into the heart of the Indian classroom. Union Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, addressed the inaugural session of the Clean Sports Conclave in New Delhi, where a landmark Memorandum of Understanding was signed to weave sporting values formally into school education nationwide.
The MoU that puts sport values on the school timetable
The agreement, titled Sport Values in Every Classroom (SViECT), was signed jointly by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, and UNESCO. The intent is direct: ensure that fairness, teamwork, respect, and healthy competition — the foundational ethics of sport — become embedded learning outcomes for school students across India, not incidental lessons.
Joshi shared that the MoU represents 'a significant step towards embedding sporting values in school education, in alignment with the vision of NEP 2020 for the holistic development of students.' The National Education Policy 2020, approved in July 2020, had already signalled a decisive shift towards multidisciplinary, value-centred learning; the SViECT MoU is among the most concrete operational expressions of that shift in the sports domain.
A ministerial and multilateral show of force
The conclave brought together a notable assembly. Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Mansukh Mandaviya was present, as was Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Raksha Khadse — a Maharashtra politician who has been a steady voice for grassroots sports development. Mr. Tim Curtis, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for South Asia, attended as the multilateral partner anchoring the agreement's global credibility.
The three-way institutional signature — two Union ministries plus a UN agency — signals that this is not a standalone government scheme but a framework with international pedagogical backing. UNESCO's involvement also opens the door to best-practice exchange with other nations that have pursued sport-values curricula.
From classrooms to Viksit Bharat 2047
Joshi explicitly tied the initiative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's long-arc vision of #ViksitBharat2047 — the government's ambition to position India as a fully developed nation by the centenary of independence in 2047. The framing is deliberate: a healthy, sports-literate youth population is positioned not just as a social good but as infrastructure for national development.
The immediate challenge now shifts to implementation — specifically, how the SViECT framework rolls out across India's highly varied state school systems, and what follow-up guidelines the Ministries of Education and Youth Affairs issue to physical education teachers and curriculum planners on the ground.
India signed an MoU with UNESCO; the real test is whether the values it enshrines reach every child who lines up for roll call tomorrow morning.
Point of View
The government is making sport-in-education a long-arc policy commitment rather than a one-off initiative. The UNESCO partnership adds accountability and international benchmarking, raising the stakes for actual classroom implementation. The critical variable will be state-level uptake, where curriculum decisions and teacher training budgets ultimately determine whether this MoU becomes transformative or ceremonial.
NationPress
28 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the SViECT MoU signed at the Clean Sports Conclave?
SViECT stands for 'Sport Values in Every Classroom'. The MoU was signed by India's Ministry of Education, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, and UNESCO to formally embed sporting values such as fairness, teamwork, and respect into school education curricula across India.
Who attended the Clean Sports Conclave on 28 October 2026?
The inaugural session was addressed by Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and was attended by Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State Raksha Khadse, and UNESCO Regional Office for South Asia Director Tim Curtis.
How does the SViECT MoU connect to NEP 2020?
The National Education Policy 2020 emphasises holistic student development including physical education and value-based learning. The SViECT MoU operationalises this goal by creating a formal framework — backed by UNESCO — to integrate sport values into everyday school education.
What is the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision and how does this initiative relate to it?
Viksit Bharat 2047 is the Indian government's long-term goal to make India a fully developed nation by 2047, the centenary of independence. The SViECT initiative is framed as contributing to this vision by building a healthier, more sports-conscious and inclusive younger generation.
What happens next after the SViECT MoU is signed?
The key next step is the rollout of the SViECT framework across state school systems. The Ministries of Education and Youth Affairs and Sports are expected to issue follow-up guidelines covering curriculum integration and training for physical education teachers.
