Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath chose Meerut’s sports goods industry to be branded under the state’s ‘One District, One Product’ scheme to promote indegenous products.
Navneet Sehgal, Additional Chief Secretary, Sports in Uttar Pradesh, explained the reason behind choosing Meerut at the Sportstar North Sports Conclave in Lucknow on Thursday.
“The scheme was introduced to select such clusters where traditionally some industry has been existing. When you watch an international cricketer use BDM and SS bats or an SG ball, they all come from Meerut. This scheme is helping the industry to innovate,” he said.
Sehgal also informed that the UP Government is now looking to create seamless footballs in collaboration with the sports equipment manufacturers in Meerut.
“I have initiated a research for manufacturing ‘stitchless’ footballs. Pakistan is already making it and is exporting it across the globe. Uttar Pradesh’s exports have doubled from 88000 crore to 156000 crore. Out of that, 70 per cent items are ‘One District, One Product’ products.”
Not just that, he also said UP is setting up a new sports university.
“We have just got the estimate that it will cost us around 1000 crore rupees. We will make sure that all world-class sporting facilities are available there,” he said, drawing a huge round of applause from the audience.
Vivek Kohli, co-chairman of Stag International, feels the scheme is ‘one of a kind’. He said, “It is a brilliant idea but our vision can be larger, as the largest democracy. More than a million people are employed in the Meerut sports factory. Meerut can go on to become the ‘Sports City’ of India with stadiums, huge sports showrooms, academies and so on.
“Brand India has to grow but we cannot do it alone. We have Adidas, Nike and in table tennis there are so many Chinese brands. We need capital intensity. But what I am proud of is the name we’ve (Stag International) made. I have been a player so I have the hunger of winning. I feel proud when I see a Stag tag on international products. This year in fact, Stag will be completing 100 years.
The Hindu Sportstar North Conclave presents a series of carefully curated conversations with top sportspersons and sport industry experts on revolutionising the sports ecosystem in Uttar Pradesh. The dialogues will offer a rare insight into the lives of the sports stars and help find ways to ignite the nation’s Olympic dream.
The Conclave was held in association with Hero We Care, a Hero Motocorp CSR Initiative, K.J. Somaiya Institute of Management, Indian Oil, Shiv Naresh, Life Insurance Corporation of India, NewsX and KSG.
Readers can follow the event live on the Sportstar website sportstar.thehindu.com.
Comments
SHARE