FILE PHOTO: Mandaviya said that India had taken proactive reforms to maintain the integrity of sports. | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

Union sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya outlined India’s strong commitment to clean sport and combating doping during the inaugural ceremony of the Final Conference of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) Global Anti-Doping Intelligence & Investigations Network (GAIIN) on Thursday.

Mandaviya said that India had taken proactive reforms to maintain the integrity of sports, citing the National Anti-Doping Act 2022 as a robust statutory framework, and noted that the National Anti-Doping Amendment Act, 2025 aligned India’s regulations with global standards.  

Terming doping in today’s context as an ‘organised multinational enterprise’ rather than an individual act of misconduct, Mandaviya underscored the need to dismantle such networks through a coordinated global response.

He also stressed the importance of preventive measures in combating the scourge of doping. “Providing the right information at the right time empowers athletes to make informed decisions and avoid both intentional and accidental violations,” he said.

Mandaviya also informed that India’s National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) was raising awareness through workshops, seminars, digital campaigns, and event-based learning, while also developing special education modules for athletes with disabilities.

Sharing the progress the country is making in testing and enforcement, Mandaviya said that India had expanded its testing from around 4000 tests in 2019 to 8000 in the past year. Moreover, he noted that adverse analytical findings had fallen from 5.6 per cent in 2019 to less than 2 per cent currently.

India is also in the process of establishing new WADA-compliant drug testing laboratories to strengthen the national anti-doping framework, Mandaviya said.

He highlighted the importance of technological interventions, such as the “Know Your Medicine” mobile application, which helps athletes verify medicines for prohibited substances. 

Furthermore, the Indian government is working towards criminalising the administering or trafficking prohibited substances, the sports minister informed the conference.

Mandaviya’s statements come after India surpassed Kenya to top the Athletics Integrity Unit’s (AIU) list of ineligible persons due to doping violations, with 148 suspended track and field athletes—two more than the African nation.

Published on Apr 16, 2026