India will soon have its first sports university in Imphal: Prasad

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved an ordinance to set up the country's first national sports university in Manipur.

Briefing reporters on the decisions of the Cabinet, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said a bill to set up the university in Imphal (west) is already pending in Parliament.

He said things will start moving fast once the President signs the ordinance.

The Manipur government has already allocated land for the proposed university, he said.

The ordinance will be on the lines of the bill introduced in Lok Sabha in August, 2017.

As of now, there are some institutes which offer various courses for athletes and coaches.

"A void exists in the sports environment of the country in various areas such as sports science, sports technology, high performance training," the bill stated.

The proposed university is expected to bridge this gap.

The proposal to set up the national sports university in Manipur was initially announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while Rs 1 billion fund for it were allocated in the 2014-15 budget.