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2018 will be the Year of Sports: Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
Dec 06, 2017

Sports has very strong interlinkages with other sectors, be it media, tourism or health, said Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Minister of State (I/C) of Youth Affairs and Sports and Minister of State, Information and Broadcasting at the 6th Big Picture Summit, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, in New Delhi today. Sports is all about happiness, and whatever profession you may be in, sports will help you become a better person and a better professional, he said.

Elaborating on the challenges of promoting sports, the Minister stressed that there is a strong need for a change in attitude towards sports. The education system should focus on imparting the right education about health and diet and wider dissemination of the knowledge can be done through apps. The app will not only have information on sports infrastructure, but also about how to play a particular game, and how to connect with the appropriate coaches. He added that the Government is undertaking many steps to promote sports.

Moreover, there is greater emphasis on creating partnerships with industry, academic institutions etc to promote sports, he added. A sports university in Manipur is a step in that direction. The Government is also funding 6 medical colleges for sports science centres, and 6 universities for sports research. Ten Centres of Excellence on sports are to be established.

Under the Make in India program, sports manufacturers and exporters are also being encouraged, stressed the Minister.  He urged industry to create sports leagues which is a viable revenue generating model. 

The media has a very important role to play in popularising sports, according to the Minister. Sharing the Ministry’s plans for 2018, he said soon they will be launching the Khelo India campaign, which will be followed by a Khelo India quiz to pique people???s interest in sports.  The aim is also to change the selection process with a talent search across the country. Also, school sports day’s winners need to be assisted to move from being school champions to regional and then national champions to groom them for becoming international champions. In a country with a population of 1.25 billion, there will be hundreds of Usain Bolts, he said.

Mr Sudhanshu Vats, Chairman, CII National Committee on Media & Entertainment and Group Chief Executive Officer, Viacom 18 Media Pvt. Ltd, said that sports has high potential, given its interlinkages with other economic sectors.

6 December 2017

New Delhi

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