Govt makes elaborate plans to mark International Yoga Day

International Day of Yoga on June 21 is set to be the next mega event of the Central government after the Swachch Bharat campaign.

The Centre is already formulating an elaborate plan to mark the occasion in India and across all diplomatic missions abroad. On the day, a half-an-hour yoga session will be held at all educational institutions, hospitals, defence establishments, and among the police and other security forces across the country.

The Ministry of External Affairs will ensure similar yoga sessions are organised across Indian diplomatic missions abroad.

The first 15 minutes of the session will be marked for the practice of “general” yoga postures. The rest will see “advanced” yoga postures. The sessions will be held in all probability early in the morning.

June 21 being a Sunday, the Centre will ask all schools, colleges and higher education institutions to ensure students observe International Day of Yoga by participating in the session, and that other activities be organised to mark the event.

The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry will issue an advisory to all state governments, besides the University Grants Commission, the All India Council for Technical Education, the Central Board of Secondary Education, the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and other bodies under it in this regard. The Department of Ayush, Union Ministry of Health, will coordinate with all the ministries and government departments to ensure that the events are organised successfully across the country and at Indian missions abroad.

A decision in this regard was taken at the first inter-ministerial meeting held here on February 12 under the chairmanship of Minister of State for Health Sripad Naik, sources told Deccan Herald.

The meeting was attended by senior officials from various ministries, including External Affairs, Defence, Home Affairs, HRD as well as Sports and Youth Affairs. A UN representative based in India also participated in it. 

“It was decided that only those yogasanas should be planned for the event that are acceptable to everyone, to avoid controversy,” added the sources.

The move comes mere months after the UN declared June 21 as International Day of Yoga, adopting India’s proposal last December.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his maiden address to the UN General Assembly last September, had called for observing an International Yoga Day, describing the ancient practice as “India's gift to the world”.