♦ Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports and Labour & Employment, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, launched the issuance of sports certificates through DigiLocker, marking a major step towards digital empowerment of athletes.

♦ The launch event was held at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi on 24 April 2024.

♦ The Minister also inaugurated the National Centre for Sports Science and Research (NCSSR) at the same venue, which is poised to become a hub for high-level research and innovation aimed at improving elite athlete performance.

♦ He cited the Draft National Sports Governance Bill 2024, the Draft National Sports Policy 2024, and the Draft National Code Against Age Fraud in Sports (NCAAFS) 2025 as recent examples of efforts to bring transparency and good governance in Indian sports.

♦ The DigiLocker-based certificate issuance will soon be integrated with the National Sports Repository System (NSRS), enabling automatic disbursal of cash rewards directly into athletes’ bank accounts via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).