Centre asks states to adopt yoga as part of school syllabus

Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik also said that yoga has been made compulsory for police personnel

The Centre has asked state governments to adopt yoga as part of their school syllabus so that willing students can take it as a subject.

Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik said in Lok Sabha that the letter to the states favouring adoption of yoga as part of the school syllabus was sent by the Human Resource Development Ministry so that those students who wished to enroll themselves could take it, though it will not be a compulsory subject.

"We hope that yoga will be part of the school curriculum from the next academic session," he said during Question Hour.

Naik said yoga has been made compulsory for police personnel and plans are afoot to make it compulsory also for defence personnel.

"A scheme titled 'Yoga Training for Police Personnel' has been initiated by the Ministry," he said.

The minister said that the government has succeeded in adoption of June 21 as the International Day of Yoga. The first International Day of Yoga was celebrated in the country in a grand manner on June 21, 2015, which was celebrated across the globe involving 192 countries.

"Arrangements for celebrating second International Day of Yoga on June 21, 2016, have also started," he said.