NEW DELHI: India will roll out a dedicated sports goods manufacturing policy by the end of the year, which will not only help nurture sporting talent but also make the country a prominent exporter of sports goods globally, Union sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Saturday.
Athletes in several sports disciplines have to rely on costly imported equipment to compete at the highest level to give them the cutting edge.
Mandaviya announced the formation of a task force in partnership with National Sports Federations (NSFs) and industry stakeholders to craft a forward-looking policy.
"By November-December, a scheme will be launched so that the country can become the best sports goods manufacturer, one that provides top-class facilities, empowers the entire ecosystem and (helps India) emerge as a prominent exporter of sports goods globally," the minister said at the Sports Goods Manufacturing Conclave.
He said that India had the ability to achieve anything and that the country was looking at making sports medicines, sports infrastructure, sports literature, and sports education design a part of the bigger sports goods manufacturing project.
"The sports ecosystem is growing at a very fast pace. Our country has the capability to achieve everything. What we need to understand are the challenges ahead. In the coming days, how do we move forward in the sports manufacturing sector?
"We can also make sports medicines, sports infrastructure, sports literature, and sports education design a part of sports goods manufacturing. There are lots of challenges like GST... we must make a task force and have schemes and policies for sports manufacturing," he said.
Mandaviya added that the ministry would reach out to stakeholders to draw out a pathway to strengthen the sector to drive greater production and export.
"Sports goods manufacturing sector is the priority for the government. The first pillar of the National Sports Governance Bill was athlete-centric governance. It also addressed the disputes of the federations. This is an important conclave, a part of the reforms in the sports sector which focuses on how we can intervene in sports goods manufacturing," he said.
"Policies will be made through discussions with all stakeholders, including NITI Aayog and the manufacturers. The work of policy framing will be completed by September," he added.