Commenting on the sailing development program, Ajay Narang, Joint Secretary General, YAI said: "The objective of the programme is two-fold. One is to promote sailing as a sport in India amongst the youth. We will soon also be taking the sailing development program to schools in the other coastal states of India such as Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and more. In a span of three months, we would like to visit 75 schools and develop students' interests in sailing. The other objective is to put pressure on the government to provide infrastructure and amenities for the sport, as it has a great future in India."

As a part of this initiative, a team from the YAI visited 22 schools in Port Blair from Sept. 19 to Sept. 24 and selected students who will be given the opportunity to learn to sail from Oct. 3 to Oct. 30. The sailing development programme visited schools in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and gave students between the age group of 8 to 13 years the opportunity to experience the thrills and spills of sailing in a safe and well managed environment. A multimedia presentation of about 30 minutes and a short quiz on sailing, the environment, water life and team work were conducted by the officials from the YAI in these schools.

The YAI has now invited 20 children from each of these schools to experience sailing at the Naval Sailing Club from Oct. 3 to Oct. 30. These children will be introduced to the sport under the guidance of qualified instructors. The YAI shall present a suitable certificate to the students on the completion of the programme.