BCCI Excluded From RTI After Government Amends Sports Bill

The BCCI will not come under the Right to Information (RTI) Act after the government amended the National Sports Governance Bill, now tabled in Parliament.

Earlier, the Bill included a clause that would’ve brought all recognised sports bodies—including National Sports Federations (NSFs), which govern specific sports in India—under RTI.

It would have allowed questions on their functioning, duties, and decisions, but that clause has now been removed.

The sports ministry pointed to the RTI Act, which applies only to bodies “substantially financed” by the government. The BCCI has argued it doesn’t rely on government funding, unlike other NSFs.

A new clause now states that only sports bodies receiving government grants or financial aid will be treated as public authorities under RTI—and only for queries related to that money.

This means NSFs must respond to RTI queries about government funds, but not about internal matters like team selection. The BCCI will only fall under RTI if it receives such financial assistance.