FULL TRANSCRIPT
Respected Chairman Sir, thank you for allowing me to speak on this Bill, which seeks to establish and incorporate a National Sports University in the state of Manipur. The significance of sports and fitness in life is priceless. A healthy sports culture leads to an equally healthy society. Sir, sports is a very important and valuable field for the development as a nation as whole which perhaps till now hasn’t been given the importance it was owed.
Sir, ‘Yahan patthar ki imarat ugai kaise? Yahan patthar ki imarat ugai kaise? Jis jagah khel ka maidan hua karta tha.’ Sir, this university will aim to fulfil the void in the sports environment of the country. The Bill raises a few questions and concerns particularly Clause 7. It is pertinent that the university should have autonomy over its functioning and the matters relating to it. Sir, the department of sports should ensure that this provision be in line with other major universities and should not hamper the autonomy of this university.
Sir secondly, Clause 30 of the Bill provides that there should be a university bill for contributions, grants, loans etc. This will provide for the amount received in any other manner from any other source. This will cover any contribution which has not been specifically mentioned in other sub-clauses.
Sir, going into the merits and demerits of the Bill, I have two suggestions. First of all, the NSU should collaborate with premier national institutions like the IITs, IIMs and other such institutes. Sir, since the university will be targeting students, sportspersons, faculties, experts, not only from the country but also from abroad, and since it is being situated in the north east, I request the government that suitable measures be taken by the ministry and the concerned agencies with regards to travel facilities and concessions which can be made.
Next, Sir, the major component of the ‘Khelo India’ scheme is identifying talent and developing them. The NSU should be of immense assistance to the ministry in prescribing procedures and standards for talent identification. The university should be able to generate its own resources to meet or supplement its requirements. In addition to the position made in the Bill under Clause 30, other resources like reaching out to corporate sources under CSR should be allowed, Sir. The outlying campuses could be established in specific regions in the country, which are hubs for specific sports. For example, for wrestling, Haryana is famous; for hockey, Punjab is famous. So. these outlying campuses could be established. Sir, the university should also provide online education for persons living in the rest of the country.
In conclusion, the university should provide a boost to sporting activities in the country and also improve the country’s sports performance at the national and international level and assist in talent identification and development also considerable employment generation opportunities. The Bill is secondly a step towards bringing the nation together to make India a sporting power.
With this, Sir, I commend the Bill to the House and support it.
