Uttarakhand Sports Department

The Department of Sports, Government of Uttarakhand, is the nodal government body tasked with promoting sports across the state, building athletic infrastructure, and supporting sportspersons through targeted welfare schemes. Its stated priorities include broadening the base of sports participation, integrating sport with education, expanding financial resources for athletes, incentivising both players and coaches, and popularising sport more widely across Uttarakhand's 13 districts.

The Uttarakhand Sports Department operates through district-level Sports Officers, supported by the central Directorate of Sports in Dehradun, and works closely with bodies like the Uttarakhand Olympic Association and various state sports federations.

To give sports development a dedicated institutional focus, the Government of Uttarakhand constituted a separate Department of Sports on 13 August 2013. Before this, sports-related administration in the newly formed state (created in 2000) was handled in a more diffused manner. The creation of an independent department allowed for a more focused approach to infrastructure planning, athlete welfare, and long-term sports policy.

The department operates under a dual leadership structure common to Indian state governments – a political head (the Cabinet Minister) and an administrative head (the Director of Sports, typically a senior IAS or IPS officer).

• Cabinet Minister: Rekha Arya currently holds the Sports & Youth Welfare portfolio in the Pushkar Singh Dhami-led government, alongside Women & Child Development and Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs.
• Director of Sports: This administrative post is held by a senior IAS officer and has changed hands several times through routine bureaucratic reshuffles in recent years; as of mid-2025, the role was held by IAS officer Ashish Chauhan, who also served as CEO of the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA). Given how frequently these postings rotate, readers are encouraged to check the department's official website for the current officeholder.
• Special Principal Secretary (Sports) IPS Amit Kumar Sinha serves in the senior administrative leadership of Uttarakhand's sports sector.
• District Sports Officers: Each of Uttarakhand's 13 districts has its own Sports Office, responsible for local implementation of schemes, trials, and facility management.

The Directorate is headquartered at the Maharana Pratap Sports College Campus, Raipur, Dehradun, and can be reached at 0135-2781414 or via email at directorsprts1@gmail.com.

Much of the Uttarakhand Sports Department's current scheme architecture flows from the State Government Sports Policy, 2021, which laid out a framework for talent identification, athlete scholarships, coaching honorariums, and infrastructure expansion across the state. Several of the department's flagship schemes, including its scholarship programmes for young athletes, were formally introduced under this policy framework.

The department runs several targeted schemes to support athletes at different stages of their sporting journey, from school-age talent identification to incentives for competitive players.

Apart from government-supported schemes, athletes in Uttarakhand can also explore additional opportunities through initiatives such as the USF Sports Scholarship Program, which focuses on identifying and supporting promising players from the state.

The Mukhyamantri Udiyaman Khiladi Unnayan Yojana, launched by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on National Sports Day (29 August 2022), selects children through a Physical and Sports Aptitude Test (P-SAT), with the selection process conducted annually between mid-March and end-March at the district level, and videography used during trials to ensure transparency.

Every year in May, the department organises trials for admission into government sports hostels through district sports offices, primarily for disciplines such as football, athletics, and boxing. These hostels provide selected young athletes with residential training facilities, allowing them to combine schooling with structured sports coaching under state supervision.

A core mandate of the department is expanding sports infrastructure across Uttarakhand's hill and plains districts alike. Its stated goals include constructing a stadium and a multipurpose sports hall in every district, alongside upgrading existing facilities. Multiple district-level stadiums have been developed or expanded under this programme, with the Indira Gandhi International Sports Stadium in Haldwani and the Maharana Pratap Sports College in Dehradun standing as the state's two most prominent multi-sport venues.

The department's most significant recent milestone was coordinating Uttarakhand's hosting of the 38th National Games of India, held from 28 January to 14 February 2025 and inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Games featured 32 core disciplines alongside four demonstration sports – Yogasana, Mallakhamb, Rafting, and Kalaripayattu – and required significant coordination between the Sports Department, the Uttarakhand Olympic Association, and various national sports federations.

• Khel Mahakumbh: A statewide grassroots sports festival bringing together thousands of athletes across disciplines including Mallakhamb, Pitthu, and Murga Jhapat.
• Anti-Doping Awareness: Workshops conducted with the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) to educate young athletes on banned substances.
• Coach Honorarium Parity: Contractual coaches under the department are to be paid honorariums on par with Sports Authority of India (SAI) trainers, aimed at retaining coaching talent.
• Infrastructure Utilisation Post-National Games: Continued focus on maximising the use of world-class venues built for the 2025 National Games for regular athlete training.

For a state with Uttarakhand's terrain and demographic spread, a dedicated sports department plays an outsized role in giving young athletes from remote hill districts a genuine pathway to state, national, and international competition.

It represents:

• A structured scholarship and welfare system reaching thousands of young athletes every year, from age 8 through to 23
• Growing sports infrastructure, accelerated significantly by the state's hosting of the 38th National Games
• A bridge connecting grassroots talent in remote villages with national-level training and competition pathways

As Uttarakhand builds on the momentum of the 2025 National Games, the Uttarakhand Sports Department's schemes and infrastructure investments remain central to the state's ambition of becoming one of India's leading sporting states.

Athletes looking for additional support opportunities can submit their details through the USF Sports Scholarship application process and be considered for assistance based on their sporting achievements and potential.