Sikkim to host National Sports Festival 2015

IPR, Gangtok, 18 July 2014: Sports & Youths Affairs and Law & Parliamentary Affairs minister RB Subba has announced Sikkim will host a week’s National Sports Festival next year and has urged all stakeholder concerned to actively cooperate and coordinate to make it an historic event. Subba announced this today while addressing a workshop on Mandate and Modalities for Youth Engagement and Sports Promotion and workshop-cum-awareness on Rural Sports competitions under RGKA/PYKKA & NSS, organised by the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs.

Stressing on skill development initiated by n the state government to empower youth, he said, the National Youth Policy 2014 has categorised those been 15 years and 29 as youth. As per this categorisation, 40 per cent of the state’s total population can be defined as youths, added the minister. He also encouraged students to opt for learning Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics and also underscored the prospects for nurses, GNM and laboratory technicians to meet the requirements at the upcoming multispecialty hospital at Sichey.

Subba further said his department has sponsored 152 students to study engineering and architecture, but nearly 248 seats are still vacant given the dearth of applicants. He also informed 8,000 youths from the North-Eastern states will be trained through DONER at ITFT Chandigarh and many aspirants from Sikkim can make use of this unique opportunity.

The programme also saw interactive sessions, distribution of cash prize incentives to meritorious sportspersons and a cultural programme.