The entire motive behind this approach was to treat sports as a part and parcel of entire education curriculum.
The Supreme Court on 20th August, 2018, issued a notice to Centre, State Governments, and Union Territories on the Public Interest Litigation, “to make sports a part of the Fundamental Rights and to promote sports education nationally.”
The PIL reads, “Sports should be included in the curriculum from nursery to secondary level and education with sports subject should be imparted to the child from the very beginning of education. Children's talent and sports aptitude should be tested from the elementary school days itself so that the talent of a child can be improved and developed through training and education.”
Advocate Rajeev Dubey backed the PIL saying, “The government has to strive for the promotion of sports education and sports culture as a part of education.”
Growth drivers
The Indian government recently took a step toward developing the sports sector as a strategy to create jobs, revenue, and attract investment, apart from nurturing sports talent. The federal government came up with a budget of Rs 1756 crore for its Play India or Khelo India program.
In addition, the introduction of major sports league such as Indian Premier League for cricket, Indian Super League for football, Pro Kabaddi and many other leagues are creating opportunities for players as well as driving curiosity among the people to participate in the sports.
These leagues are redefining the spirit of sports, attracting investors as well as the people who see their career in sports.
In the recently held 2018 Asian Games, India added 3 more medals to its kitty, where Vinesh Phogat was the highlight of the day, who created history by bagging the first-ever gold medal for an Indian female wrestler.
Many such achievements add value to the decision of the Supreme Court, to make sports a part of education system in India.
