At least 155 million Indian adults and 45 million adolescents today fail to meet the WHO guidelines on physical activity, reveals Dalberg’s State of Sports and Physical Activity (SAPA) report. Developed in partnership with Sports and Society Accelerator with support from Omidyar Network India and the Ajit Isaac Foundation, the report makes an urgent call for greater focus and participation in sports and physical activity, demonstrating its benefits and identifying pathways to overcome challenges along the way.

India is in an alarmingly inactive state

The SAPA report demonstrates that India has a long way to go in becoming an active nation, those who do engage in physical activity are not diverse in their movements—data shows that outside of work and chores, most adults engage only in walking, which is beneficial but not enough on its own. Only 10% of adults in the country even play sports; the number who play regularly is likely to be even lower. While more adolescents (66%) engage in sports regularly, there is limited diversity in their choice of sport—half of the boys play cricket, with representation in other sports being much lower.

The gender-divide in how Indians engage in SAPA is stark – on average, girls and women spend 5-7 fewer hours in SAPA (about 20% less) per week than boys and men. This gap worsens as we move into urban areas where girls are at the highest risk. At least a third of them do not meet the WHO guidelines for physical activity.

Urban women are especially affected by inactivity

Urban women spend 385 fewer active minutes per week than rural women and 249 fewer minutes per week than urban men. A number of factors are responsible for the divide: lack of infrastructure, safety, and access results in 20% fewer women engaging in SAPA in public spaces, and misconceptions like SAPA being dangerous during menstruation and pregnancy further reinforce this gap.

SAPA can contribute tremendously to India’s ambitions towards a Viksit Bharat

If India continues to stay inactive, we’re at risk of increased burden on all fronts. By 2047, an inactive India would face 200 million more adult cases of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), 45 million more obese adolescents, and additional annual healthcare costs of more than INR 55 trillion, compared to today. Moreover, India is currently suffering with low worker productivity – about half the global average, low educational attainment due to health-related absenteeism, as well as low female labor force participation. 

Higher engagement in SAPA has the potential to flip this picture. As per the report, SAPA can significantly benefit individuals, accruing benefits across the population to deliver greater societal and national outcomes. Nations across the world have benefitted from increased investment in SAPA – with China registering 40% fewer in-patient hospitalizations and 30% lower healthcare expenses, and UK creating £72 billion in socio-economic value, among several other examples.

The SAPA report quantifies these outcomes for India, outlining achievable targets that can help the nation in the following ways:

1. Economic progress: SAPA can increase India’s GDP by over INR 15 trillion annually if the whole population is active by 2047, including the prevention of INR 2.5 trillion (USD 30 billion) in productivity-related losses due to fewer sick days and presenteeism related to illness.
2. Health and mortality outcomes: By 2047, SAPA can prevent around 110 million adult cases of NCDs, lead to 30,000 fewer suicides, and save approximately INR 30 trillion in healthcare costs by reducing obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and mental health issues.
3. Bridge the gender divide: By 2047, SAPA can motivate 11 million girls to pick up a sport for the first time, which is linked to improved agency and confidence –potentially creating 600,000 additional women entrepreneurs and leaders. 
4. Excel as a sporting nation: Through SAPA, we can mobilize INR 4.5 trillion of annual expenditure in the sports industry by 2047.  Increased sporting potential can also strengthen India’s ability to host the Olympics, secure more sporting victories, and expand our global sports footprint.

Getting there: Fostering public-private collaboration and interventions to encourage SAPA

The outlined targets call for strategic interventions across policy, infrastructure and community programs to significantly boost physical activity levels nationwide. The report emphasizes the role of both public and private sector players, providing actionable takeaways for governments, school leaders, city planners, entrepreneurs, and civil society organizations.

• Building innovative SAPA-centric infrastructure from weather-proof transit solutions such as covered elevated bike highways to open-air dance floors, stages and music systems in public parks can encourage activity.  
• Since schools play a formative role in instilling physical habits, school leaders must design model schools that prioritize activity and provide adequate resources to offer students a diverse range of SAPA, and train and empower PE teachers. Investing in the training and empowerment of physical education teachers and trainers will be the critical baseline of this effort.
• Urban planners can map out future public space construction to ensure that everyone has access to a (green) space within 15-minutes from home. 
• Enabling community engagement can go a long way, such as organizing city-wide SAPA events, encouraging sports in all sectors of society, and creating opportunities to engage in a wide variety of sports at all levels (from casual to elite) and for all abilities. 
• Entrepreneurs have the opportunity to build business models that incentivize, track, and train users to engage in more in SAPA. For instance, they can help develop a national app to track SAPA data that offers personalized challenges and rewards to create a sense of collective progress.
• In everything we do, we need a programmatic focus on gender – create gender-inclusive infrastructure and programs, create media campaigns that dispel myths and encourage women to take up SAPA, and develop enthusiasm and skills among girls in school to instill SAPA engagement at the grassroots.

Gaurav Gupta, Global Managing Partner at Dalberg Advisors, says, “If there is one thing we can control, it is how we take care of ourselves. Our physical health and wellbeing impacts our quality of life and our contributions to society. As a nation, we’re far behind from realizing the full potential of our people simply because we aren’t focusing enough on how frequently we move and engage in physical activity – which is why we need to create external motivators, interventions, and greater access to encourage people towards SAPA engagement. At the grassroots, we need better schools, more playgrounds, and a new outlook that prioritizes physical activity as essential, not as optional or extra-curricular.”

Nandan Kamath, Co-Founder, Sports and Society Accelerator, adds, “This report highlights the profound impact that sports and physical activity (SAPA) can have on our nation’s well-being, from driving economic growth and livelihoods, to enhancing physical and mental health, and driving several socio-economic indicators. We stand at a crucial juncture to optimize our demographic advantage and be a sports-forward nation. We must seize the opportunity and build a future where SAPA is embedded into the life of every Indian.”

About the report:

The State of Sports and Physical Activity report establishes the first-ever granular baseline for India through a survey of 5000 adults and adolescents. It maps physical activity patterns across various demographics including all income segments in both rural and urban settings.

The report also explores the motivations and barriers to SAPA through a survey and 16 focus group discussions with diverse segments such as parents and physical education teachers, and expert interviews. It also incorporates perspectives from leading organizations in the sports for development sector, including Magic Bus, Dani Sports Foundation (DSF), Dasra, Naandi Foundation, Stepathlon, Zomato, and Vasant Valley School, among others. 

ABOUT DALBERG ADVISORS

Dalberg Advisors is a strategic advisory firm that combines the best of private sector strategy skills and rigorous analytical capabilities with deep knowledge and networks across emerging and frontier markets. We work collaboratively across the public, private and philanthropic sectors to fuel inclusive growth and help clients achieve their goals. Our global perspectives are firmly rooted in local realities. We have 28 offices across the world and have served clients in more than 135 countries. By combining local knowledge and international experience, our strategies blend the best global ideas and innovations with the local practicalities and partnerships needed for effective implementation.

Dalberg Advisors is part of the Dalberg Group which comprises six businesses — Dalberg Advisors, Dalberg Data Insights, Dalberg Design, Dalberg Implement, Dalberg Media, and Dalberg Research — and a not-for-profit, Dalberg Catalyst.