The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has, for the first time, designated 'Development of Sporting Activities' as a common Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) theme for Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) — a move expected to channel significantly greater institutional funding towards sports development across India. The notification, issued through an Office Memorandum on 20 June 2025, covers FY 2026-27 and FY 2027-28.

A First for Sports Under the DPE Framework

The DPE introduced the concept of a Common CSR Theme in 2018, initially identifying school education and healthcare as priority areas and advising CPSEs to direct at least 60 per cent of their CSR expenditure towards notified themes. Health and nutrition were added in subsequent years to encourage focused interventions. Sports, however, had been conspicuously absent from this coordinated framework — despite being an eligible CSR activity under Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013.

Without a dedicated thematic designation, CSR spending on sports remained modest and largely driven by the individual priorities of each enterprise, with no institutional mechanism to aggregate or direct resources at scale.

What the New Notification Covers

The latest Office Memorandum formally brings sports within the Common CSR Theme framework for the next two financial years. The DPE has identified five key intervention areas: development of sports infrastructure, provision of sports equipment, access to professional coaching, promotion of sporting activities, and nurturing of sportspersons.

Because CPSEs typically align a substantial share of their CSR budgets with DPE-notified themes, the designation is expected to translate into materially higher and more structured investment in grassroots sports, athlete support systems, talent identification, and coaching programmes across the country.

Alignment With National Sporting Policy

The move dovetails with the government's broader sporting ambitions under the Khelo Bharat Niti 2025 and the Khelo India Mission, as India works to consolidate its standing as a leading global sporting nation. Officials believe the framework will allow CPSE CSR resources to complement — rather than duplicate — government spending, helping expand access to quality sporting facilities and strengthen athlete development pathways in a structured manner.

Why This Matters

Unlike education and healthcare, which have benefited from years of coordinated CSR policy nudges, sports infrastructure in India has historically been underfunded at the grassroots level. The DPE's decision introduces an institutional lever that could change that calculus. Notably, this is the first time in the seven-year history of the Common CSR Theme framework that sports has been elevated to this status — a signal of shifting national priorities ahead of India's growing ambitions on the global sporting stage.

The framework is expected to be operationalised as CPSEs finalise their CSR plans for FY 2026-27, with the two-year window providing enterprises sufficient runway to design and execute meaningful sports-linked interventions.