New Delhi, March 19 India has the potential to significantly increase its exports of sports equipment to USD 8.1 billion and generate around 5.4 million additional jobs by 2036, according to a report released by Niti Aayog on Thursday.
The report focuses on increasing India's share in global exports of sports goods from USD 2 billion to USD 24 billion and in equipment, from the current USD 275 million (0.5 per cent) to USD 8.1 billion (11 per cent) by 2036.
The report, titled "Realizing the Export Potential of India's Sports Equipment Manufacturing," highlighted that India is at a critical turning point, driven by shifting global supply chains, a steady pipeline of upcoming mega sporting events, and increasing policy momentum in the sector.
It makes a strong case for targeted and sustained investments to unlock the country's global competitiveness in sports equipment manufacturing, while also reducing dependence on imports.
The report suggests addressing structural cost disadvantages, strengthening partnerships with global anchor brands, upgrading manufacturing clusters, and improving market access and branding as key to achieving this transformation.
The report emphasized that India's sports goods sector, largely driven by MSME-led clusters, holds immense untapped export potential if supported by coordinated policy action and long-term strategic planning.
It also underlines the need for close collaboration between government, industry stakeholders, and sports institutions to ensure sustained execution and to overcome legacy challenges in the sector.
If implemented effectively, these measures could position India as a trusted global supplier of high-quality sports equipment over the next decade, the report said.
"The potential upside is substantial, USD 8.1 billion in equipment exports and the creation of 5.4 million additional jobs (cumulative) by 2036 across MSME-led clusters. These are certain to establish India as a trusted global supplier of high-quality sports equipment," it said.
To reach the target in 10 years, there is a need for a phased approach towards prioritizing key sports segments based on two things: the size of the global export market today, and India's current manufacturing readiness in each segment.
While the sector has significant export potential, it remains severely constrained by competitiveness gaps that limit its ability to win global orders, meet lead time expectations, and showcase compliance readiness.
Under a business-as-usual trajectory, India's exports would continue to grow at 0.6 per cent CAGR (historical growth rates) and plateau through 2036, with its global share remaining marginal at 0.4 per cent, it said.
To reach the USD 8.1 billion mark, it said, India needs a coordinated set of structural reforms, targeted fiscal support, and ecosystem-building measures to expand manufacturing capability while improving credibility and market access.
The proposed interventions for the sports equipment sector require coordinated action across the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, central and state governments, athletes, corporates, manufacturers, and sports federations.
Easing duties, QCOs, and the eventual development of domestic ecosystems for raw materials like carbon fibre can reduce per-unit costs and improve competitiveness, thereby enabling scale, it said.
The development of integrated, world-class manufacturing clusters would address constraints related to scale, infrastructure, and technology adoption, it said, adding that targeted market-access and branding reforms would improve global competitiveness and demand visibility.
Collectively, these measures can position India as a credible global manufacturing hub for sports equipment, enabling it to capture share from established exporters, such as China, Vietnam, and Pakistan, it added.