Podcast on sports integrity

Takshashila Institution has put sports integrity on its policy agenda with a podcast episode that treats age fraud and doping as governance problems, not just athlete scandals. (takshashila.org.in) The Bengaluru-based think tank says its flagship “All Things Policy” show has produced more than 1,500 episodes, and its podcast platform is built to explain public-policy questions beyond daily headlines. (takshashila.org.in) In Indian sport, “integrity” usually means whether a competition’s records, eligibility lists and test results can be trusted. That includes basic checks on age documents, anti-doping tests, athlete whereabouts filings and the people assigned to enforce the rules. (nadaindia.yas.gov.in) Those checks are under pressure in 2026. On April 21, 2026, The Indian Express reported that World Athletics’ Athletics Integrity Unit reclassified India’s athletics system as carrying an “extremely high” doping risk, after India recorded 48 anti-doping rule violations in 2022, 63 in 2023 and 71 in 2024. (indianexpress.com) The World Anti-Doping Agency has also documented deeper system failures. In its July 18, 2023 summary of “Operation Carousel,” WADA said its investigation found inadequate testing of some athletes in India’s registered testing pool and weak oversight of whereabouts information, producing 12 positive tests and 97 whereabouts failures involving 70 athletes. (wada-ama.org) Age fraud sits in the same bucket because it changes who is eligible to play. On March 13, 2025, The Hindu reported that India’s draft National Code Against Age Fraud in Sports proposed a centralised digital database, mandatory document checks, medical exams in disputed cases and a life ban for a second offense. (thehindu.com) The Indian government has been rewriting the oversight structure around these issues. The Union Cabinet approved the National Sports Policy 2025 on July 1, 2025, replacing the 2001 policy and setting a roadmap tied explicitly to India’s push to become a stronger international sporting power and a contender for the 2036 Olympic Games. (pib.gov.in) Takshashila’s own sports-budget analysis in February 2026 argued that enforcement capacity still looks thin. It said the National Anti-Doping Agency’s allocation fell from ₹24.3 crore to ₹20.3 crore, while the National Dope Testing Laboratory’s allocation fell from ₹28.55 crore to ₹23 crore in the 2026-27 Union Budget. (takshashila.org.in) NADA says it is strengthening the system through sample collection, results management, education, research and intelligence work, and WADA said in 2023 that India had added staff and increased blood and out-of-competition testing after scrutiny intensified. (nadaindia.yas.gov.in, wada-ama.org) That is why a podcast episode on sports integrity lands as more than commentary. In India’s current sports system, the credibility of leagues, federations and Olympic ambitions now turns on document verification, testing capacity and whether the rulebook is enforced the same way for everyone. (pmindia.gov.in, indianexpress.com)