Union Minister of State for Ayush Prataprao Jadhav on Tuesday said 10th International Day of Yoga (IDY) celebrations will be held in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will grace the occasion.
The minister made the announcement at a press conference ahead of the 10th edition of IDY on 21st June.
Stating that PM has been a pivotal figure in promoting yoga globally, he said, “Since 2015, PM has led the IDY celebrations at various iconic locations, including Kartavya Path in Delhi, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Ranchi, Jabalpur, and even the United Nations Headquarters in New York. His leadership has significantly boosted yoga’s global popularity and recognition.”
The minister further said that following a proposal by PM to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2014, on 11th December 2014 it was unanimously resolved to observe 21st June every year as IDY. This effort led to the global recognition of Yoga.
“In the last 10 years, IDY has set four Guinness Book of World Records. In 2015, a total of 35,985 Indians performed Yoga at Rajpath along with PM. A total of 84 countries participated in the yoga session at one place and gradually each year witnessed an increasing number of participation from across the world and last year in 2023, a total of around 23.4 crore people from across the world participated in the IDY event,” said Jadhav.
He also emphasised that this year’s theme ‘Yoga for Self and Society’ highlights yoga’s dual role in fostering individual and societal well-being.
The minister also launched a ‘Common Yoga Protocol Book in Braille’ script to support the visually impaired to learn and practice yoga with convenience.