National Sports Governance Act comes into effect partially

New Delhi: The National Sports Governance Act partially came into effect on Thursday with provisions that will set the ball rolling for the institution of an all-powerful National Sports Board (NSB) and a Tribunal to handle sporting disputes notified as enforced by the central government.

The Act was notified on August 18 last year and has been described as the single biggest sporting reform in the country by Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.

The provisions being brought into effect relate to the establishment and governance framework of National Sports Bodies, including the National Olympic Committee, National Paralympic Committee, National Sports Federations (NSFs) and Regional Sports Federations.

"...the provisions of sections 1 to 3, sub-sections (1), (2) and (4) of section 4, sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 5, sub-section (5) of section 8, sub-section (1) of section 11, sections 14 and 15, sub-sections (1) to (7) and (10) of section 17, sections 30 and 31, and sections 33 to 38 of the said Act shall come into force," stated a late night press release from the Sports Ministry on Wednesday.

After elections under the provisions of the Act, all these bodies will be required to have Executive Committees of no more than 15 members with at least two Sportspersons of Merit (SOMs) in them.

The constitution of the National Sports Board (NSB) and the National Sports Tribunal (NST) will also get underway with the partial implementation.

The NSB will feature a Chairperson and members appointed by the Central Government from among "persons of ability, integrity and standing who possesses special knowledge or practical experience in the field of public administration, sports governance, sports law and other related fields." agencies