India, Nov. 5 -- The Executive Board of Commonwealth Sport has recommended Ahmedabad, India, to be the host city for the Commonwealth Games in 2030, which also happens to be the centenary games. While the final decision will be announced this month, the indicators for sports to become a key national priority sector for India are already in place. Hosting a multi-nation, multi-sport event brings with it not only a focus on high-performance sport and infrastructure development, but also a societal shift in using legacy planning towards inculcating sport in the population over the long term. A healthy, skilled, resilient and confident population is the engine of any advanced economy. Sport delivers on each of these outcomes simultaneously. It improves health indicators, drives employment and entrepreneurship, fosters social cohesion, and inspires excellence. Until recently, sport in India had not been treated as a national priority sector. That is changing rapidly now. With high performance and hosting international events remaining a focus area, there are also several additional aspects to sport being a major contributor to the economy and to society. With over 65% of India's population under the age of 35, sport can become a vehicle for skilling, employment, and health security. Our challenge is to move beyond episodic excellence and make sport integral to how we live, learn, work, and grow. This requires a structural shift in how we frame sport; not as a discretionary expenditure, but as a transformative investment. The recently approved National Sports Policy 2025 (NSP 2025) offers a timely and comprehensive roadmap. It marks a break from earlier policies that focused narrowly on medals and elite talent. Instead, NSP 2025 is rooted in a whole-of-ecosystem vision, built on five interconnected pillars - excellence, education, mass participation, economic growth, and social development. It integrates sport and physical activity (SAPA) into education, urban planning, health care, and economic policymaking. The policy urges a shift from top-down schemes to systemic collaboration between central and state governments, private sector players, and citizens. Crucially, NSP 2025 is not just about podium finishes, although these are important. It views sport as a public good, a force multiplier for development outcomes and an enabler of Viksit Bharat's goals across health, employment, education, gender equity, and innovation. Sport in India is still viewed through a somewhat limited lens, but a close look at comparable economies across the world highlights just how much of a driver of jobs and industry sports can be. A growing sports economy would encompass infrastructure development, sports tech, equipment and apparel manufacturing, data analytics, fitness and rehabilitation services and sports media and content production. With the right incentives and regulatory support, India can become a global hub for sports innovation, livelihoods, and entrepreneurship, especially aligned with Make in India and other missions. Currently, SAPA contributes about 0.1% to India's GDP, and approximately 0.5% of India's jobs. It actually can and should be providing millions of jobs in sports and sports-aligned sectors, and contribute up to 4% of India's jobs and 2% to India's GDP by 2047, which is in line with high-growth nations globally. India's non-communicable disease burden now accounts for over 60% of deaths, and lifestyle-related health risks are rising sharply among children and youth. Promoting daily SAPA through schools, workplaces, and communities can significantly improve preventive health care, mental health, and overall productivity. Integrating sport into school curriculums and ensuring access to play spaces across rural and urban India will yield long-term dividends in cognitive growth, school retention, and employability. An active India is a productive India, and health savings from an active population will reduce future fiscal pressure on public health systems and, by 2047, could contribute Rs.15 lakh crore to India's GDP. States are responsible for building out and implementing sports, and there have been several success stories in states such as Odisha, with a recent spurt in innovative sports policies and plans across Indian states. The central government should continue to encourage and incentivise such leadership through co-financing models, capacity-building partnerships, and long-term collaborations. A national index of SAPA, tracking participation, infrastructure, and governance at the state level, can spur competitive federalism in sport, much like we've seen in health, education, and ease of doing business. The scale of ambition that NSP 2025 outlines cannot be achieved without robust private sector participation - from foundational to elite. Private academies, sports tech startups, CSR initiatives, and performance centres all have a vital role in expanding access and deepening the talent pool. The private sector should soon view sports as a strategic investment in India's future, whether through employee wellness, infrastructure partnerships, athlete sponsorship, or research and innovation. Sports can play a key role in India becoming Viksit Bharat by 2047 by actively contributing to national well-being, productivity, and cohesion. The intent shown thus far by the Centre and several state governments suggests that sport should be recognised as a core pillar of India's developmental trajectory. We now have a national policy, intent to put India on the global sports map, a strong demographic dividend, and a rising middle class eager to engage. The next step is to move from policy to practice, and from aspiration to action. Sport is a direct enabler of development priorities. It's time to play for Viksit Bharat....