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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday stressed the importance of sports in shaping India’s future, linking it to the country’s goal of becoming a developed nation. Speaking from the Red Fort during his Independence Day address, Modi said the recently approved National Sports Policy (NSP) 2025 would strengthen the sporting ecosystem from the grassroots to the Olympics. “Sports is an essential aspect of development and I am happy, that from the time when parents used to scoff at children spending time in sports, we have reached a point where it has changed. Now, parents are happy if children take interest in sports,” Modi said as quoted by PTI. He described it as a “good omen” for the nation. The NSP 2025, cleared by the Union Cabinet last month, replaces the two-decade-old National Sports Policy 2001. It aims to create a strong and inclusive sporting structure, with measures to ensure ethical practices, fair play, and healthy competition. The framework includes national agencies, inter-ministerial committees, and funding initiatives such as “Adopt an Athlete”, “Adopt a District”, and “One Corporate-One Sport”. “To promote sports, we have come up with the National Sports Policy after several decades. It would ensure development of sports, from school to the Olympics. We will develop an ecosystem whether it is coaching, fitness or infrastructure… that penetrates the farthest corner of the country,” the Prime Minister said. Within weeks of the policy’s approval, Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya also ensured the passage of the National Sports Governance Bill in Parliament, introducing a stricter regulatory framework for National Sports Federations and a formal dispute resolution mechanism. The Prime Minister also said that fitness is integral to sporting culture and urged citizens to address the growing obesity problem. “When I talk of fitness and sports, I want to talk about obesity, which is a huge problem for the country. It is predicted that every third person is expected to be obese in future, we have to reduce consumption of oil to win this war on obesity,” he said.
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Modi added that the government’s efforts, including the Khelo Bharat Policy, are focused on building a robust and inclusive sports culture. “From school-level games to the Olympics, our goal is to build a complete and robust ecosystem for sports,” he said.
