Lok Sabha Question No. 4673 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-22
Subject: Promotion of Yoga among Youth
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Sujay Radhakrishna Vikhepatil, Unmesh Bhaiyyasaheb Patil

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4673 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22 nd  July, 2019

Promotion of Yoga among Youth

## 4673. DR. SUJAY RADHAKRISHNA VIKHE PATIL: SHRI UNMESH BHAYYASAHEB PATIL:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to impart Yoga education in schools/colleges, army and other Government's educational institutions in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  whether  there  is  also  any  proposal  to  make  Yoga  compulsory  in  such  institutions  and  if  so,  the details thereof;
- (c) the compliance status of instructions issued in this regard by such institutions;
- (d)  the  details  of  competition organised  to promote  Yoga  among  youths  at  district/State  level  in  the country; and
- (e) whether the Government has assessed the availability of Yoga teachers in this regard and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI RAMESH POKHRIYAL 'NISHANK')

(a)  to  (e)  :  The  Ministry  of  Human  Resource  Development  had  appointed  a  committee,  under  the chairpersonship  of  Prof.  H.R.  Nagendra,  Chancellor,  Swami  Vivekananda  Yoga  Anusandhana Samsthana, Bengaluru (S-VYASA) for making recommendations on Yoga Education in Universities. The Committee prescribed curriculum for Yoga courses in its recommendations. As a follow up, the Ministry  asked the University Grants Commission (UGC) to promote following five Yoga courses in Universities and Colleges.

|   Sl.No. | Course                                | Course Code   | Duration                                 |
|----------|---------------------------------------|---------------|------------------------------------------|
|        1 | Bachelors of Science (Yoga)           | B.Sc (Yoga)   | 3 year to 6 year                         |
|        2 | Masters of Science (Yoga)             | M.Sc (Yoga)   | 2 year to 4 year                         |
|        3 | Doctor of Philosophy                  | PhD (Yoga)    | As per the PhD duration specified by UGC |
|        4 | Post Graduate Diploma in Yoga         | PGDY          | 1 year to 2 year                         |
|        5 | Post Graduate Diploma in Yoga Therapy | PGDYT         | 1 year to 2 year                         |

UGC, upon a directive from Government of India, Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH), INA, New Delhi dated 24.06.2016, has issued advisory to all  Educational  Institutions  to  include  AYUSH  disciplines  in  their  institutions  for  enrollment  of candidates in the Ph.D programme.

National Curriculum Framework (NCF), 2005 recommended Yoga as an integral part of Health and Physical Education.  Health and Physical Education is a compulsory subject from Class I to Class X and optional from Class XI to XII.   The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has already developed integrated syllabi on Health and Physical Education from Class I to Class X.  The syllabus is available on NCERT website www.ncert.nic.in.

Central  Board  of  Secondary  Education  (CBSE)  has  made  Health  and  Physical  Education compulsory in all classes from I-XII. It has been advised to schools that Health and Physical Education includes  three  areas  i.e.  Health  Education,  Physical  Education  and  Yoga  and  all  three  areas  are essential to achieve holistic health (physical, mental, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual).

The  Government  has  also  included  Yoga  training  in  the  'Study  in  India'  programme  to encourage Yoga seekers from abroad to obtain authentic Yoga training in India. UGC has approved the establishment of an Inter University Centre-Yogic Science at Bengaluru and introduced Yoga as a new National Eligibility  Test  (NET)  subject  from January  2017  UGC-NET onwards. Further, in order to promote Yoga in the country, Yoga Departments have been established in nine Central Universities.

The Government has set up a Yoga Certification Board (YCB) to standardize and strengthen Yoga  training  by  providing  certification  to  individuals  and  accreditation  to  Institutions.  This  is  a significant  step  in  spreading  Yoga  in India  and  other countries.  In  addition,  Morarji  Desai  National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY) is an autonomous organisation under Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India.  MDNIY  is  a  focal  Institute  for  Planning,  Training,  Promotion  and  Coordination  of  Yoga Education,  Training,  Therapy  and  Research  in  all  its  aspects.  MDNIY  aims  to  promote  deeper understanding of Yoga philosophy and practices based on classical Yoga amongst people.

NCERT organized Yoga Olympiad across the country at various levels, schools from states and UTs, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) schools participated in the Yoga Olympiad, culminating in the National Yoga Olympiad on 18 th to 20 th June, 2019 at NCERT, New Delhi. The valedictory function was held at New Delhi, wherein Prizes were awarded to the winning teams.

National Institute of Naturopathy (NIN), an Institute under Ministry of AYUSH, conducts on an average 16 outreach activities every month to popularize Yoga and Naturopathy, some of which are held in villages near Pune. Under National AYUSH Mission (NAM), financial assistance is provided to States and Union Territories for setting up AYUSH wellness Centres, in which Yoga is an important component.

Education  is  a  subject  in  the  Concurrent  List  of  the  Constitution  and  majority  of  schools, recruitment,  service  conditions  and  deployment  of  teachers  including  yoga  teachers  are  under  the jurisdiction of the State/Union Territory Governments and it is for the respective State/Union Territory Government to take a decision in such matters for their schools .