The Sports Ministry on Monday granted recognition to 54 national federations till September this year, continuing to leave out the governing bodies for paralympics and rowing from the list. The ministry granted fresh recognition to the All India Carrom Federation. The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), Rowing Federation of India (RFI) and School Games Federation of India (SGFI) were the ones denied recognition once again. While PCI and RFI were suspended for violating the National Sports Code, the Sushil Kumar-led SGFI was de-recognised for mismanagement.

While recognition to NSFs are usually annual, this time the ministry has decided to offer only till September this year, raising eyebrows from Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Narinder Batra.

"Why September 2020 and why not till December 2020," Batra questioned.

Sports Ministry officials did not immediately respond to calls for an explanation on the matter.

Ministry's recognition is of great significance to small NSFs as they mostly depend on the government's yearly funding to manage their day-to-day expenses.