Sports Ministry grants NSF status to FMSCI as India eyes Formula 1 return by 2028
The Sports Ministry has granted NSF status to the motor-sport body FMSCI. India, which hosted Formula 1 races from 2011 to 2013, is aiming to stage a Grand Prix again by 2028.
India originally welcomed Formula 1 between 2011 and 2013, but the event was removed from the calendar owing to taxation and financial reasons. The recent decision to recognize FMSCI as an NSF was announced against that backdrop of a decade-long absence from the F1 calendar. Officials and stakeholders have expressed a hope that a return can be achieved by 2028, keeping that target firmly in public discussion.
The formal NSF designation for FMSCI was issued by the Sports Ministry, reflecting an official change in status for the governing motor-sport body. While the recognition is administrative, the move was reported alongside renewed ambitions to re-establish India on the Formula 1 schedule. The timeline to 2028 remains a publicly stated objective for those advocating a home Grand Prix.
The history of Formula 1 in India spans three seasons from 2011 through 2013, after which the race was discontinued. Organisers and authorities have previously cited taxation and financial reasons for removing the event from the international calendar. That background has shaped discussions about what would be required for a successful comeback and remains central to any planning for a future race.
Despite the hiatus since 2013, the aspiration to host a Grand Prix by 2028 has been articulated in public statements and reporting. The NSF status awarded to FMSCI was reported in the context of these aspirations, placing the motor-sport body's official recognition alongside the country's stated aim. No new race date has been finalized publicly beyond the 2028 target being expressed as a goal.
The Sports Ministry's decision to grant NSF recognition to FMSCI and India's stated hope to host Formula 1 by 2028 together mark the latest developments in the country’s longstanding interest in returning to the sport. The sequence of events — hosting from 2011 to 2013, the subsequent removal due to taxation and financial reasons, and now official recognition of the national motor-sport body — frames the current ambitions for a revival of the Grand Prix on Indian soil.