Mandaviya Outlines 2036 Olympic Vision, Job Creation Before NDA MPs

New Delhi: Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who also holds the portfolio of Labour and Employment, presented a report card of his two ministeries at a recent meeting of the NDA MPs, highlighting the efforts to bring the 2036 Olympics to India and the growth in employment over the last 12 years. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in attendance, Mandaviya started with sports and then listed the progress made in the Labour and Employments ministry, drawing applause at the mention of major milestones. "He mentioned that earlier the idea was to land a job through sports. The long-term vision was missing. He also spoke about how important it is to prioritise sports science to move ahead in the medal tally in international events," a well-placed source said referring to the minister's stated position on the issue of sports as a stepping stone for employment. "We have to host the 2036 Olympics. We have to be in the top 10 of medal winners. We have to be in top five sporting nations by 2047," he added. Mandaviya said India's medal tally in the Olympic Games, which was a total of 21 across the Games held between 1948 and 2012, was 15 in just the last three editions. "He also highlighted India's outstanding Commonwealth Games performance, where despite the reduced number of medal events, India finished fourth with a tally of 39 medals including historic performances in boxing, athletics and judo." In a more elaborate briefing on Labour and Employment, Mandaviya stated that "17.1 crore additional jobs were created between 2014 and 2024, alongside a 66 per cent rise in youth employability." "The social security coverage also grew from 25 crore in 2015 to over 101 crore beneficiaries in 2026."