The National Olympic Committees (NOCs)

Where the IOC leads the Movement globally, the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) carry it into each individual country. An NOC is the national-level unit of the Olympic Movement, and there are 206 NOCs; the IOC is the sole authority to recognise an NOC. Together with the International Sports Federations, the NOCs are a constituent of the Movement under the leadership of the IOC.

Mission of the NOCs

The mission of the NOCs is to develop, promote and protect the Olympic Movement in their respective countries, in accordance with the Olympic Charter. In practice an NOC:

• promotes the fundamental principles and values of Olympism and runs Olympic educational programmes in its country;
• works to help its athletes participate at the highest level and give high performance, by providing training and other logistics;
• holds the responsibility of sending athletes to the Olympic Games; and
• may nominate its country's cities to host the Games.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA)

In India, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) acts as the NOC. It is a non-profit organisation under the Societies Registration Act of 1860, founded in 1927 by Sir Dorabji Tata (President) and Dr A.G. Noehren (Secretary General), and recognised by the IOC in the same year. Its prime objective was to promote and develop the Olympic Movement in India. In the early years the IOA itself selected sportspersons to represent India, but after 1947 it handed the responsibility of selection and training to the National Sports Federations, and now mainly arranges transport, board and accommodation for officials and sportspersons. …