Discuss the institutional and governance weaknesses that have made India the highest doping-positivity country globally for three consecutive years. Suggest reforms.

India's doping record reflects institutional under-capacity more than individual deviance. WADA's "Operation Carousel" concluded that the National Anti-Doping Agency's (NADA) lack of resources left its testing programme non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code [1].

Regulatory capacity deficits

• Operation Carousel found NADA had not adequately tested athletes in its Registered Testing Pool, and identified 97 whereabouts failures by 70 athletes alongside 12 positive tests [1].
• Whereabouts monitoring and intelligence-led out-of-competition testing remain the weakest links; sample volumes stay modest relative to India's athlete base, keeping the positivity rate reported in WADA's annual testing figures the highest among major testing nations [2].

Scientific infrastructure gaps

• WADA suspended the National Dope Testing Laboratory's accreditation in August 2019 for non-conformities with the International Standard for Laboratories, including its IRMS method [3], and extended it before eventual reinstatement [4] — forcing costly overseas analysis and delayed results management.

Federation-level accountability and perverse incentives

• National Sports Federations long functioned with opaque governance and weak internal anti-doping discipline, a gap the National Sports Governance Act, 2025 was enacted to close through ethics and fair-play obligations [5].
• Medal-linked cash rewards create shortcut incentives for athletes and coaches, while district and state-level meets — the entry point of the doping culture — lie largely outside the testing net.

Reforms

• Operationalise the National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Act, 2025, which mandates WADA accreditation for dope-testing laboratories and safeguards against standards departures [6].
• Enforce the National Sports Governance (National Sports Bodies) Rules, 2026 [7] by linking federation recognition and funding to audited anti-doping compliance.
• Fill NADA vacancies, insulate its operational autonomy, and shift from volume-based to risk-profiled testing.
• Embed athlete education from the Khelo India stage and tighten regulation of the supplement supply chain.

Clean sport is ultimately a governance outcome. A well-resourced, autonomous NADA backed by accountable federations can convert the 2025 legislative reset into credible compliance — essential if India's aspiration to host global sporting events is to rest on integrity rather than medals alone.