National Rifle Association of India

In the medieval times, shooting was regarded as the means of survival for people, who hunted for animals and birds in order to fulfill their food requirements. This was largely because of the poor agricultural output that resulted in a scarcity in the supply of food grains. The period after Industrial Revolution in India resulted in subsequent increase in agricultural output, which resulted in a fall in hunting for food. Nonetheless, affluent people still maintained hunting as their recreational activity and continued to hunt their preys.

Since hunting was regarded as a recreational activity, people started hunting for animals in an impulsive way. This resulted in indiscriminate poaching, which made the Government of India to put restrictions on hunting. Some of the people, who used to hunt previously, resorted to target shooting as a sport. This way, shooting turned to be a much adored sport in India. Today, it has a number of state Rifle Associations and the National Rifle Association of India, which aim to uplift the standard of shooting sport in India.

Established in 1951, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) is the central body for the administration and promotion of shooting sport in India. The first speaker of Lok Sabha - G.V. Maviankar - was the founder President of NRAI. The NRAI is networked throughout India, through its 46 State Rifle Associations/Units located in different parts of the country. It holds national level competitions in rifle, pistol and shotgun events. India has also played host to a slew of international shooting events like the ISSF World Cup and the first Commonwealth Shooting Championship at Delhi in 1995.

NRAI deserves kudos for the remarkable improvement in the standard of the game in India. It played an active role in the construction of Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Ranges, New Delhi, which was the first range in the country built as per International standards. Today, India has a number of talented shooters to boast of, who have raised the standard of the game and fetched national and international recognition to it.