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Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and MoS for Education Jayant Chaudhary on Saturday highlighted that the National Education Policy 2020 is integrating sports into the formal curriculum, enabling the country to build a strong sports ecosystem.
Speaking on the second day of the RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit Powered by Leaders at the Padukone Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence, Chaudhary said that India is on the cusp of a sports revolution, driven by the progressive National Education Policy 2020. This policy emphasizes the need for a multidisciplinary approach, giving students the freedom to explore their talents and interests. "Now we have a progressive policy, the National Education Policy 2020, which understands that you need to give a lot of freedom and exposure and to be a multidisciplinary approach. You need to suss out the talent and equity in access to school children of all ages. Let them understand what their talent is, what drives them and give them that capacity to innovate and think out of the box. Once we have that policy structure, which is so progressive, it enables us to build sports into the formal curriculum," said Chaudhary. The sports sector is already showing promising signs, with sporting goods manufacturing employing over 500,000 people in India. The establishment of sports universities in Uttar Pradesh and Telangana is set to create new avenues and jobs for retired sports persons and coaches. Additionally, the centre of excellence at IIT Madras for sports analytics and science is a testament to India's growing focus on sports technology. "Sporting goods manufacturing is already a viable business employing more than 500,000 people in India. When you look at the education side also, there are green shoots. The state of Uttar Pradesh is the first one to set up a sports university. Telangana also has plans - they've announced plans to create a sports university. What that does is it creates avenues and jobs for retired sports persons and coaches to seek that. There's already a centre of excellence at IIT Madras for sports analytics and science. There's a lot of green shores there, a lot more job opportunities and also, small businesses can thrive." Later in the day, Jayesh Ranjan, Special Chief Secretary of Industries & Commerce and IT Departments of the Telangana Government, emphasized, that the speed of decision-making will be crucial in accelerating India's growth in the sports sector. "One of the internal benchmarks we have created for ourselves is that every decision will be taken at maximum at two levels, and it'll take more than a fortnight to respond to. And we have done away with all the red tape," he said while asserting that he is aiming to enable a sporting revolution in the state of Telangana. With India aiming to host the 2036 Olympics, the country is gearing up to become a major player in the global sports industry, Prashanth Shawn Doss of Elevate underscored that India has tremendous potential to unlock its true potential in this area. Doss highlighted the country's passionate sports community, excellent economy, and great ambition as key strengths that can propel India to the next level. "The strengths are we have got, an enormous community here that is so passionate, ready, and excited for a change. Everyone has a vision of what India can be and will be with the proper infrastructure. You have an excellent economy, great people, and great ambition, and now you have a moment to figure out the fan experience at the venues and take India to the next level," he said. The RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit was a raging success. The event was wrapped up with a fireside chat with world cricketing and RCB legend Virat Kohli, who elaborated on how India could become a massive sports-forward nation. (ANI)
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