Lok Sabha Question No. 2579 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-09
Subject: New NCoEs Proposal
Ministry: YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS
Asked by: Shri B Y Raghavendra

## Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports

## Government of India Department of Sports

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2579 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.03.2026

New NCoEs Proposal

## 2579. SHRI B Y RAGHAVENDRA:

Will the Minister of YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  total  number  of  National  Centres  of  Excellence  (NCoE)
- functioning under the Sports Authority of India (SAI), location-wise;
- (b) the number of athletes currently get training at each NCoE, sport
- and centre-wise of the respective States which they belong;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to establish any new NCoE in the country and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the guidelines, eligibility criteria and prerequisites prescribed by the Government/SAI for establishing and operationalising a National
- Centre of Excellence?

## THE MINISTER OF YOUTH AFFAIRS & SPORTS

## ANSWER [DR. MANSUKH MANDAVIYA]

- (a) and (b): A total of 26 National Centres of Excellence (NCOEs) have been  established  so  far.  The  details  of  the  same  along  with  the location  of  each  Centre  and  the  number  of  athletes  currently undergoing training at each NCOE across the country, are provided at Annexure.
- (c) Sports being a State subject, the development  of sports infrastructure, including identification of suitable training facilities, is  primarily  undertaken  by  the  respective  State  Governments.  The Sports  Authority  of  India  (SAI)  periodically  reviews  and  monitors existing  sports  facilities  across  the  country,  and  proposals  for

upgradation  or  development  of  such  facilities,  including  National Centres of  Excellence  (NCoEs ), are  considered  based  on  proposals received, technical feasibility and availability of funds.

- (d)  The  opening  of  a  new  National  Centre  of  Excellence  (NCOE)  is considered based on the following broad criteria:
- (i)  Support  and  commitment  from  the  State  Government/other stakeholders;
- (ii) Availability of adequate sports infrastructure meeting prescribed standards;
- (iii)  Sports potential of the region and past performance in the identified discipline(s);
- (iv) Availability of qualified coaching and requisite support staff;
- (v) Accessibility and connectivity of the proposed location;
- (vi) Financial viability and availability of budgetary resources.

*****

## ANNEXURE

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2579 FOR 09.03.2026 ASKED BY SHRI B Y RAGHAVENDRA REGARDING 'NEW NCoEs PROPOSAL'

DETAILS OF NATIONAL CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE (NCOEs), LOCATION\_WISE ALONG WITH DISCIPLINE-WISE NUMBER OF ATHLETES DURING 2025-2026

| SN   | Region/ Centre Name         | State          | Disciplines         |   No. of athletes |
|------|-----------------------------|----------------|---------------------|-------------------|
| 1    | Alleppey                    | Kerala         | Kayaking & Canoeing |                57 |
|      |                             |                | Rowing              |                65 |
|      |                             |                | TOTAL:              |               122 |
| 2    | Bhopal                      | Madhya Pradesh | Athletics           |                39 |
|      |                             |                | Hockey              |                84 |
|      |                             |                | Judo                |               121 |
|      |                             |                | Judo (Para)         |                05 |
|      |                             |                | Kayaking & Canoeing |                42 |
|      |                             |                | TOTAL:              |               291 |
| 3    | Bangalore                   | Karnataka      | Athletics           |                99 |
|      |                             |                | Athletics (Para)    |                19 |
|      |                             |                | Hockey              |                81 |
|      |                             |                | Volleyball          |                23 |
|      |                             |                | TOTAL:              |               222 |
| 4    | Cooch Behar                 | West Bengal    | Archery-Para        |                 0 |
|      | (Yet to be Started)         |                | Athletics-Para      |                 0 |
|      |                             |                | Football            |                 0 |
|      |                             |                | Volleyball          |                 0 |
|      |                             |                | TOTAL:              |                 0 |
| 5    | Chhattrapati Sambhajinag ar | Maharashtra    | Archery             |                25 |
|      |                             |                | Archery (Para)      |                04 |

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| SN   | Region/ Centre Name   | State            | Disciplines         |   No. of athletes |
|------|-----------------------|------------------|---------------------|-------------------|
|      |                       |                  | Boxing              |                34 |
|      |                       |                  | Fencing             |                44 |
|      |                       |                  | Fencing (Para)      |                07 |
|      |                       |                  | Gymnastics          |                18 |
|      |                       |                  | Hockey              |                34 |
|      |                       |                  | Weightlifting       |                49 |
|      |                       |                  | TOTAL:              |               215 |
| 6    | Dharamshala           | Himachal Pradesh | Kabaddi             |                30 |
|      |                       |                  | Volleyball          |                24 |
|      |                       |                  | TOTAL:              |                54 |
| 7    | Guwahati              | Assam            | Archery             |                20 |
|      |                       |                  | Boxing              |                43 |
|      |                       |                  | Cycling             |                37 |
|      |                       |                  | Fencing             |                19 |
|      |                       |                  | Football            |                30 |
|      |                       |                  | Taekwondo           |                30 |
|      |                       |                  | TOTAL:              |               179 |
| 8    | Gandhinagar           | Gujarat          | Athletics (Para)    |                26 |
|      |                       |                  | Badminton (Para)    |                12 |
|      |                       |                  | Fencing (Para)      |                15 |
|      |                       |                  | Handball            |                60 |
|      |                       |                  | Kabaddi             |                89 |
|      |                       |                  | Kho-Kho             |                30 |
|      |                       |                  | Powerlifting        |                12 |
|      |                       |                  | Swimming (Para)     |                16 |
|      |                       |                  | Table Tennis (Para) |                16 |
|      |                       |                  | TOTAL:              |               276 |
| 9    | Hamirpur              | Himachal Pradesh | Athletics           |                20 |
|      |                       |                  | Badminton           |                11 |
|      |                       |                  | Boxing              |                16 |
|      |                       |                  | Hockey              |                14 |

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| SN   | Region/ Centre Name   | State             | Disciplines         |   No. of athletes |
|------|-----------------------|-------------------|---------------------|-------------------|
|      |                       |                   | Judo                |                29 |
|      |                       |                   | Wrestling           |                27 |
|      |                       |                   | TOTAL:              |               126 |
| 10   | Itanagar              | Arunachal Pradesh | Archery             |                14 |
|      |                       |                   | Boxing              |                11 |
|      |                       |                   | Weightlifting       |                18 |
|      |                       |                   | Wushu               |                32 |
|      |                       |                   | TOTAL:              |                75 |
| 11   | Imphal                | Manipur           | Archery             |                20 |
|      |                       |                   | Cycling             |                30 |
|      |                       |                   | Fencing             |                19 |
|      |                       |                   | Football            |                21 |
|      |                       |                   | Hockey              |                44 |
|      |                       |                   | Judo                |                20 |
|      |                       |                   | Weightlifting       |                23 |
|      |                       |                   | Wushu               |                42 |
|      |                       |                   | TOTAL:              |               219 |
| 12   | Jagatpur              | Odisha            | Kayaking & Canoeing |                61 |
|      |                       |                   | Rowing              |                43 |
|      |                       |                   | TOTAL:              |               104 |
| 13   | Kolkata               | West Bengal       | Archery             |                44 |
|      |                       |                   | Archery (Para)      |                02 |
|      |                       |                   | Athletics           |                23 |
|      |                       |                   | Athletics (Para)    |                04 |
|      |                       |                   | Gymnastics          |                41 |
|      |                       |                   | Hockey              |                38 |
|      |                       |                   | Table Tennis        |                44 |
|      |                       |                   | TOTAL:              |               196 |
| 14   | Kandivali             | Maharashtra       | Hockey              |                36 |
|      |                       |                   | Wrestling           |                50 |
|      |                       |                   | TOTAL:              |                86 |
| 15   | Lucknow               | Uttar Pradesh     | Athletics           |                06 |
|      |                       |                   | Hockey              |                81 |

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| SN   | Region/ Centre Name   | State   | Disciplines      |   No. of athletes |
|------|-----------------------|---------|------------------|-------------------|
|      |                       |         | Powerlifting     |                07 |
|      |                       |         | Taekwondo        |                38 |
|      |                       |         | Taekwondo (Para) |                08 |
|      |                       |         | Weightlifting    |                36 |
|      |                       |         | Wrestling        |                33 |
|      |                       |         | TOTAL:           |               209 |
| 16   | Naranpura             | Gujarat | Basketball       |                03 |
|      |                       |         | Taekwondo        |                38 |
|      |                       |         | Volleyball       |                 0 |
|      |                       |         | Wushu            |                 0 |
|      |                       |         | TOTAL:           |                41 |
| 17   | Patiala               | Punjab  | Athletics        |                78 |
|      |                       |         | Cycling          |                61 |
|      |                       |         | Cycling (Para)   |                 0 |
|      |                       |         | Fencing          |                38 |
|      |                       |         | Weightlifting    |                49 |
|      |                       |         | TOTAL:           |               226 |
| 18   | Rohtak                | Haryana | Boxing           |               165 |
|      |                       |         | TOTAL:           |               165 |
| 19   | Sonepat               | Haryana | Archery          |                82 |
|      |                       |         | Archery (Para)   |                08 |
|      |                       |         | Athletics        |                29 |
|      |                       |         | Hockey           |                77 |
|      |                       |         | Kabaddi          |                42 |
|      |                       |         | Wrestling        |                65 |
|      |                       |         | TOTAL:           |               303 |
| 20   | Trivandrum            | Kerala  | Athletics        |                79 |
|      |                       |         | Athletics (Para) |                03 |
|      |                       |         | Cycling          |                37 |
|      |                       |         | Fencing          |                17 |
|      |                       |         | Football         |                13 |
|      |                       |         | Taekwondo        |                30 |
|      |                       |         | Taekwondo        |                01 |

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| SN   | Region/ Centre Name   | State         | Disciplines       |   No. of athletes |
|------|-----------------------|---------------|-------------------|-------------------|
|      |                       |               | Volleyball        |                47 |
|      |                       |               | TOTAL:            |               227 |
| 21   | Zirakpur              | Punjab        | Yet to be Started |                 0 |
|      |                       |               | TOTAL:            |                 0 |
| 22   | Sigra                 | Uttar Pradesh | Boxing            |                 0 |
|      | (Yet to be Started)   |               | Fencing           |                 0 |
|      |                       |               | Shooting          |                 0 |
|      |                       |               | Wrestling         |                 0 |
|      |                       |               | TOTAL:            |                 0 |
| 23   | I.G.Stadium           | Delhi         | Cycling           |                23 |
|      |                       |               | Gymnastics        |                35 |
|      |                       |               | TOTAL:            |                58 |
| 24   | MDCN Stadium          | Delhi         | Hockey            |                64 |
|      |                       |               | TOTAL:            |                64 |
| 25   | Dr. SPMSPC            | Delhi         | Swimming          |                24 |
|      |                       |               | TOTAL:            |                24 |
| 26   | Dr. KSSR              | Delhi         | Shooting          |               137 |
|      |                       |               | Shooting (Para)   |                23 |
|      |                       |               | TOTAL:            |               160 |