Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) Deemed University on Monday entered into an agreement with the Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU) to promote and popularise rugby both at the grassroots level and the high-performance level.

According to the MoU, KIIT-KISS has become the only university in India to be the associate sponsor of Rugby India for the next three years.

The state government remains the main sponsor of the game, said a media release issued by the KIIT. KIIT & KISS founder Achyuta Samanta and IRFU president Rahul Bose signed the MoU in the presence of three coaches and selectors of the Indian National Rugby 15s teams — Naas Botha, Kiano Fourie and Andre Venter.

KISS has been promoting rugby since 2004 and Samanta has played a key role in this. According to the agreement, KISS-KIIT is committed to the promotion of rugby both at the grassroots level as well as the high-performance level and has therefore partnered with IRFU.

The partnership will entail KISS and KIIT making available its facilities for the conduct of camps and competitions, for the preparation and training of the teams in connection with their participation in international tournaments and Test matches.