The Sports Ministry on Monday granted recognition to 54 national federations till September this year, leaving out the governing bodies of archery, golf, gymnastics and paralympics among others.
In the revised list, the ministry granted fresh recognition to the All India Carrom Federation.
The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), Rowing Federation of India (RFI) and School Games Federation of India (SGFI) were the ones denied affiliation.
While the PCI initially found a place in the 2019 annual recognition list, it was de-recognised by the ministry in September last year for violating the National Sports Code.
PCI Secretary General Gursharan Singh said that the PCI could not submit some important documents to the sports ministry due to the lockdown and that was why it was not given recognition.
Just like PCI, the RFI and the Sushil Kumar-led SGFI too were part of 2019 list but were de-recognised earlier this year for violating the 2011 National Sports Code and mismanagement respectively.
The ministry also continued to deny recognition to the Archery Association of India (AAI), the Indian Golf Union (IGU), the Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI) and the Taekwondo Federation of India.
While recognition to NSFs is usually annual, this time the ministry has decided to offer it only till September this year, prompting questions from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Narinder Batra.
“Why September 2020 and why not till December 2020,” Batra questioned.
Sports Ministry officials did not immediately respond to calls for an explanation on the matter.
Ministry’s recognition is of great significance to small NSFs as they mostly depend on the Government’s yearly funding to manage their day-to-day expenses.