New Delhi, Jul 23 (IANS): The government on Monday introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to set up a National Sports University in Manipur to promote education in the areas of sports sciences, sports technology, sports management and sports coaching.

The National Sports University Bill, 2018, was introduced by Minister of State for Sports Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. It will replace an ordinance brought by the government earlier this year.

The proposed university will also function as the national training centre for select sports disciplines by adopting the best international practices.

The proposal was made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget speech of 2014-15. The Manipur government has marked 325.90 acres of land in Koutruk, West Imphal district, for setting up the university.

According to the statement of object and reasons of the bill, the National Sports University will be the first full-fledged sports university of international standards.

The Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education, Gwalior, a deemed university, is restricted to offering Bachelor of Physical Education and Master of Physical Education courses, and the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports focuses on training elite athletes and coaches only.

It said a void exists in the sports environment of the country in areas such as sports science, sports technology, sports management and high performance training.

The proposed university will provide Bachelor's Degree, Master's Degrees, and Research and Training in various areas related to sports.

The focus of university will be multi-disciplinary studies and it will have functionally related schools with stress on latest researches in sports sciences, sports medicine and sports technology.

The University is also empowered to establish outlying campuses throughout the country and also outside India.

The government has signed memoranda with the University of Canberra and Victoria University -- both in Australia -- for developing curriculum and research facilities.