In a bid to promote various aspects of sports such as management, technology and coaching, the Lok Sabha on Friday passed the National Sports University Bill, 2018 after a clause-by-clause voting during the day 12 proceedings of Parliament Monsoon Session.
Earlier on Wednesday, Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore introduced the bill, which seeks to establish a National Sports University in Manipur and run two courses for now. This is the 6th bill tabled to place an ordinance during the Monsoon Session.
Pitching the idea of National Sports University in Manipur, BJP MP and former BCCI president Anurag Thakur said, "we must not restrict to just one National Sports University in the country'". Thakur compared India's sports market with that of US and asked the sports ministry to bring up the level of the sportspersons to match international standards.
TMC member and former footballer Prasun Banerjee also bat for National Sports University all across India and asked, "Why not Bengal, why not Punjab, why not all over the country?"
"Why not make one in Kolkata? Why don't you host the World Cup here?" Banerjee questioned on the establishment of National Sports University in Manipur.
Accepting the idea of establishing Sports University branches abroad, Rajyavardhan Rathore said, "By 2019, the sports industry will be an $80 billion industry".
"This sports university will address various issues. This will be for training of elite athletes and will also be for research purposes. This university can have branches abroad too," Rathore said in Lok Sabha.
Read | Lok Sabha passes bill to give constitutional status to NCBC
The BJP government has increased the stipend for sportspersons from a yearly amount of Rs 850 to a monthly stipend of Rs 1000, the sports minister informed.
Rathore also took the matter to Twitter and put up a few details about the National Sports University in Manipur. "Lok Sabha passes the National Sports University Bill 2018. This will establish a first-of-its-kind National Sports University in Manipur," an excited Rathore said.
"This is a major step towards bringing to reality PM @narendramodi ji's vision of developing a world class 360° sports ecosystem in India," he added.
"The National Sports University, Manipur is envisioned to offer courses in 13 departments through its 4 schools. There will be enhanced focus on sports coaching, physiology, nutrition, journalism and other verticals associated with sports," Rathore wrote in another tweet.
Read | Parliament passes bill for quick prosecution in cheque bounce
Among other things, the legislation proposes to empower the university to establish 'Outlying Campuses' throughout the country and also outside India.
Apart from academic programmes and research, the university and its Outlying Campuses' will also impart training to elite athletes, sports officials, referees, and umpires and evolve as centres of excellence in the various discipline of sports.
Read | When PM Narendra Modi responds to netizens on Twitter; agrees to smile more
In order to make the university a world-class institution, the government had signed an agreement with two Australian universities -- University of Canberra and Victoria University -- for development of curriculum, research facilities, and laboratories, among others.
/newsnation-english/media/agency_attachments/2024-07-23t155806234z-logo-webp.webp){kind=logo}
Follow Us/newsnation-english/media/post_attachments/images/2018/08/03/sports-687278503.jpg)