The foundation stone for the construction of the sports university in Manipur will be laid soon as the land transfer formalities are nearly complete, said Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region Jitendra Singh today.
Singh said this while addressing a function organised to celebrate the Manipur's 'Ningol Chakkouba' festival, traditionally observed by hosting a special feast for 'married daughters' by their parental households.
Manipur, known for producing some of the famous athletes like boxer Mary Kom, will soon get the exclusive sports university, first in the country.
The Minister said Manipur, with a population of around 27 lakh, has a literacy rate of over 79 per cent which is higher than the average all-India literacy rate.
But, in spite of this, its per capita income is lower than the average per capita income at all-India level.
One of the reasons for this, he said, is inadequate utilisation of the state's human and non-human resources, as a result of which, there is a mass exodus of youth to other parts of the country.
The vast woman potential also remains under-utilised in spite of the level of female emancipation and literacy being higher in comparison to other states of the country, he said.
Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his very first visit to the Northeast, had announced the setting up of a sports university.
Singh said Manipur is known to fetch maximum number of medals in different categories during international events and therefore Prime Minister's visionary decision to establish an exclusive sports university in the state will not only help in grooming the sports talent of the state's youth but will also address the issue of unemployment to a great extent.
