India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called on his country's sports administrators to "unleash" a new nationwide "wave of sports consciousness and development" involving the young. He also said that sports and games should be made compulsory in schools and colleges. "I do believe we need a new social compact involving all stakeholders to launch a nationwide movement of youth in sports," he said after opening the newly built Olympic Bhavan of the Indian Olympic Association in New Delhi.
"I am sure that given the right opportunity, our youth will show impressive results. I suggest that we should seriously think of making sports and games a compulsory part of the educational syllabus in our schools and colleges, he said as quoted by the Hindustan Times. "Countries that stand out in the world of sports are the ones that have in fact made them an integral part of their educational curricula. By doing this we will not only promote the cause of the Olympic Movement in India but also enable our youth to remain healthy and physically fit."