New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS): The sports ministry, in its bid to develop human resource for sports in India, Tuesday launched a scheme that focusses on developing sports sciences and medicine.

Sports Minister Jitendra Singh, while announcing the scheme 'Human Resources Development in Sports', said the scheme will help India be among the top-10 sporting nations in the world.

"This will help the country be self-reliant in these fields over a period of time in general and meet the requirements of the proposed National Institute of Sports Sciences and Medicines, in particular," he said.

The scheme will cover award of fellowships for specialised studies at masters and doctoral levels in the subjects, namely, biomechanics, kinesiology, anthropometry, exercise physiology, sports psychology general theory & method of training (GTMT), sports medicine and sports nutrition and anti-doping.

Fellowships and scholarships will be awarded to sports specialists, coaches, support personnel and match officials for specialized studies in the respective areas.

Financial grant will also be given for research projects relevant to sports. There are provisions for financial grant for publication works and journals of high standard directly linked to sports and games

Financial assistance for attending international seminars, conferences and workshops on sports related matters will also be provided by the ministry.

The revised scheme will be implemented on pilot mode during the 12th Plan period. The estimated expenditure for the revised scheme during the current plan period will be around Rs.45 crore, which will be met from the total plan outlay of the department.

Top level universities with world class facilities, have been identified for most of the subjects for the fellowship programme. The target is to give 10 such fellowships every year.

The scheme intends to award fellowships and scholarships, besides providing financial grants to a number of projects in order to develop one of the top 10 sporting nations in the country.

"This will help the country be self reliant in these fields over a period of time in general and meet the requirements of the proposed National Institute of Sports Sciences and Medicines in particular," Jitendra Singh added.