‘States’ support needed in making India a global sports house’
Union Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur

Chintan Shivir concludes at City Convention Centre

PIB

Imphal:Union Sports Minister Shri Anurag Singh Thakur on Tuesday stressed on the need of support and cooperation of the states to make India a power house of sports, in his concluding remark at the two-day Chintan Shivir of Youth Affairs and Sports Ministers of States/Union Territories.
The two-day conference participated by YAS ministers of states and union territories across the country kicked off on Monday and concluded today in Imphal’s City Convention Centre. The conference kicked off with a virtual address of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.

“You have come here taking time out of your valuable time. The outcome of the discussion in these two days will be immensely helpful in developing India’s sports, the Union minister said. India is striving to become a global powerhouse of sports and to achieve this, the support and cooperation of each state and union territories is a must, he said. He reiterated that development of sports of the country lies with the states and union territories while asserting that sports is a state subject and the responsibility for development of sports rested with the state and union territory governments.
Many states have shown this in action by producing players of international levels and other states can also take steps for the development of sports, he said. These states can adopt the models being applied by the states advanced in the field. The conference held here has given an opportunity to share the models, Thakur said.
The Central government is supplementing the state’s efforts in this regard. The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports has formulated many schemes to promote sports in the country. The states should avail the benefits of the schemes, he asserted. The Union Minister said that the National Sports University is tying up with international sports bodies in various aspects sports sciences, sports technology and sports management.
The NSU was set up as a specialized university to promote sports education in the areas of sports sciences, sports technology, sports management and sports coaching, besides functioning as the national training centre for select sports disciplines by adopting best international practices, he said.
He said that the NSU is also envisaged as an apex institution for advanced study and imparting training in physical education. Earlier, the Union YAS Minister opened the two-day Chintan Shivir of Youth Affairs and Sports Ministers of States/Union Territories which was kicked off in Imphal on Monday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s virtual address.
YAS Minister of Punjab Shri Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, YAS Minister of Assam Bimal Borah, YAS Minister Sikkim Shri Kunga Nima Lepcha and sports secretary of government of India Smt Sujata Chaturvedi, were also on the dais of the opening session of the conference held in Imphal’s City Convention Centre.
In the technical session of the last day of the conference, the delegates discussed the “Issues and challenges in sports governance” and “Improving engagement among stakeholders in the sports sector” with papers on the topic presented by resource persons.
Officials of the Indian Olympic Association, All India Football Federation, Indian Rugby Football Union, concerned officials of Kerala and Haryana were the resource persons of the topic, Issues and challenges in sports governance.
It was moderated by Secretary of the ministry of YAS. It was followed by an open house discussion in which YAS ministers from various states shared their opinions and suggestions. Earlier in the morning, Union Minister of YAS and Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur took the review meeting with officials and inspected the construction of the permanent campus of the National Sports University (NSU) at Koutruk in the outskirts of Imphal. The Union Minister and officials of the YAS were briefed by the officials of the agencies handling the construction of the permanent campus and Thakur advised the officials for timely completion of the said project.

NBCC, India Ltd, a central public sector enterprise under the Union Ministry of Housing & Urban affairs is the work agency of the project. The Centre sanctioned the setting up of the National Sports University in 2014 with an allocation of Rs 100 crore in the Union budget 2014-15.The foundation stone for the construction of the University was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 16, 2018.