Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has said that Sport empowers individuals, transform communities and inspire populations for positive change. <br/><br/>Addressing a gathering at the launch of the National Sports Talent Search Portal in New Delhi today, Mr Naidu said, sports play an important role in improving physical and mental health and fostering active citizenship and social inclusion. <br/><br/>He said, Sports inculcates leadership skills, team spirit and enables a person to develop a sense of equanimity during a win or a loss. <br/><br/>Mr Naidu said, sports enhances child development, learning and encourage better academic performance. <br/><br/>The Vice President stressed on the need to create good infrastructure for sports in all states and nurture sporting talent from an early age. <br/><br/>He said, across the length and breadth of the country, there is a need for more training academies and coaching centres to turn the young men and women into sports stars and role models for succeeding generations. <br/><br/>He said, the platform of National Sports Talent Search Portal will be a game changer and enable the Sports Ministry and Sports Authority of India select the best. <br/><br/>The portal will enable any person from across the country to upload his information and as per that the Ministry will tap their talent and train them further in their respective disciplines. <br/><br/>The portal will provide a three step simple process for registration, profile creation and upload of achievements. Around 1000 kids will be selected and they will receive scholarships of 5 lakh rupees per year for eight years. <br/><br/>The portal will be available in English and other regional languages so that any boy or girl can upload his or her achievements from any part of the country. <br/><br/>The portal will also be available as App which can be downloaded on smart phones.