Mizoram cabinet has accorded industry status to sports in order to create more jobs as the state's efforts to attract investment for industry yielded very less response.
A meeting of the cabinet ministers on Friday (May 22) approved the proposal by the state sports and youth service department to grant sports an industry status.
"This is a historic development and now we hope to attract more investment for sports development as sports is our strength and resource," sports minister Robert Romawia Royte told reporters in Aizawl after the cabinet meeting.
He said the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and a few other big industrial bodies have been demanding industry status to sport for a long time and Mizoram's decision would help create more jobs for local youths.
Royte, a business-man-turned politician is credited for creating a conducive atmosphere for sports in Mizoram after his football club, Aizawl FC won the I-League football in 2017. Royte, who won the Assembly elections in 2018 had also promised to bring in more professionalism into sports and help to project sports as a career in Mizoram, where there are very few industries even today.
The economy in Mizoram is agriculture-based and lack of proper infrastructure and communication facilities have failed to attract private investors to set up industry in the state.
The state has produced several footballers who are playing in big football clubs in the rest of the country. The move, Royte said would also help attract private investors to further improve sports infrastructure in the state and allow sportspersons to earn more.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks