Uttar Pradesh is steadily becoming a hub of sports in India with the state building a strong foundation for athletes to bring medals to the country, Union Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Anurag Thakur said on Sunday.

Praising the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government for giving equal priority to sports and cinema while inviting investment, Thakur said, "No sector is deprived in Yogiji's rule. With such great support from the state government, Uttar Pradesh is currently the best investment destination."

Thakur, also the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, attended two sessions at the ongoing Global Investors Summit here.?

Praising the state government while taking part in the session on 'Decoding the Investment Potential of the Sports Sector in Uttar Pradesh and its Role in USD 1 Trillion Economy', Thakur said, "It is the Uttar Pradesh government that has taken the initiative to include the sports sector in the investors' summit. No other state has ever done that."

Minister of State (Independent) for Sports and Youth Welfare Girish Chandra Yadav, Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra, India cricketer Suresh Raina, former national basketball player Yannick Colaco and Dorna (MotoGP) Chief Strategy Officer Carlos Ezpeleta also attended the session.

Addressing the session on 'Media & Entertainment: The Indian Digital Growth Story', Thakur added, "...Be it through medals or films like 'RRR', sports and cinema are two sectors that break the boundaries of the country and make it proud. I'm thankful to CM Yogi for paying the required attention to both."?

"When we talk about creative economy in the world, India is the country that produces the maximum number of films. We must encourage film production in unexplored areas," he said.?

Calling animation, visual effects, gaming and comics the new and emerging sectors, Thakur said, "...we must work towards it as we have a lot of potential, not only in production but also post-production."?

Not only has filming in the state been made easier but the subsidies offered are encouraging budding film-makers, Thakur said.?

"Jab sarkar khud aap ka haath pakad kar chalne ko taiyar hai toh peeche mat hatiye (When the government is ready to hold your hands, don't hold yourselves back)," he remarked.

-With PTI Input