BCCI escapes RTI ambit in National Sports Governance Bill 2025 after amendments: Report

BCCI must register as national body, but amendments to the bill offer RTI relief.

The new National Sports Governance Bill 2025, introduced in Parliament on July 23, sparked plenty of debate in the cricket world. One of its provisions suggested that all national sports bodies, including the Board of Cricket Council in India (BCCI), would be brought under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. However, according to reports, there’s been an amendment in the law providing relief for the BCCI.

Initially, the bill had proposed that every recognised sports organisation will be treated as a public authority under the RTI Act.

“A recognised sports organisation shall be considered as a public authority under the Right to Information Act, 2005 with respect to the exercise of its functions, duties, and powers under this Act,” said the original draft of the bill in Clause 15(2).

That naturally raised concerns, especially for organisations that don’t receive government funding, like the BCCI.

However, as reported by The Times of India, the amended clause now limits RTI applicability only to those sports organisations that receive government funds or assistance. Since the BCCI operates independently and does not rely on government funding, it is no longer obligated to comply with RTI provisions.

“Only those organisations that rely on government funds or assistance will be considered public authorities under RTI.”

Also Read: Five major talking points from National Sports Governance Bill 2025

While, the BCCI may be exempt from RTI, they will still have to register as a national federation under the new National Sports Governance Bill. That’s because the law also proposes a unified governing body each for Olympic and Paralympic sports to provide transparency and match the global standards.

Since cricket is now officially part of the Olympics, making its return at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the BCCI will need to fit into that structure.

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