The International Day of Yoga (IDY) is celebrated all over the world, on the 21st of June of every year. The 11th International Day of Yoga (IDY 2025) was celebrated globally on June 21, 2025, with the theme “Yoga for One Earth, One Health” underscoring Yoga’s increasing global appeal and India’s pivotal role in promoting holistic health and wellness. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi led the main event of IDY-2025 at the beachfront of Visakhapatnam, alongside nearly 3.02 lakh participants, in a harmonious Yoga demonstration. Across India, 13.64 lakh Yoga Sangam events were registered on Yoga Portal, showcasing widespread grassroots engagement.
Similarly, during 2024-25 also, IDY 2024 was celebrated globally with the theme “Yoga for Self and Society”, emphasizing Yoga’s role in fostering individual well-being and community solidarity. Ministry of Ayush organized the main event of International Day of Yoga 2024 in Srinagar, where 7000 enthusiasts performed Yoga on the banks of Dal Lake for promoting Yoga. Additionally, 45-minute Common Yoga Protocol (CYP) sessions were conducted in 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir, engaging over 20,000 participants. Further, the following precursor events for observance of IDY-2024 were also carried out by the Ministry with focus on community-level awareness for promoting Yoga:
75 Days to IDY, 2024 on 7th April 2024 at Wadia College Sports Ground, Pune with more than 5000 Yoga enthusiasts.
50 Days to IDY, 2024 Event on 2nd May 2024, at Police Parade Ground, Surat with more than 7000 Yoga enthusiasts.
25 Days to IDY, 2024 Event on 27th May 2024 at Magadh University, Bodh Gaya, Bihar with more than 7000 Yoga enthusiasts.
In addition, under the Central Sector Scheme for “Promotion of Information Education and Communication (IEC) in AYUSH”, the Ministry organized One (01) National Level Arogya fair in Dehradun, Three (03) State Level Arogya fairs in Mon District (Nagaland), Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Nashik (Maharashtra) and One (01) Yoga Fest in New Delhi for promotion of AYUSH systems including Yoga with specific focus on community-level awareness drives at national and regional levels. Total budgetary provision for IEC scheme for the Financial Year 2024-25, including that for IDY, 2024, was Rs.43.20 crores.
Under the Ministry of Ayush, Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H), a subordinate organization, lays down the formulary specifications and pharmacopoeial standards for Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy (ASU&H) drugs which serves as official compendia for ascertaining the quality (identity, purity and strength) of the ASU&H drugs.
Ministry of Ayush is also implementing a Central Sector Scheme “Ayush Oushadhi Gunavatta evam Uttpadan Samvardhan Yojana (AOGUSY)” with the following objectives:
i. To enhance India's manufacturing capabilities and exports of traditional medicines and health promotion products under the initiative of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
ii. To facilitate adequate infrastructural & technological upgradation and institutional activities in public and private sector for standardization, quality manufacturing and analytical testing of Ayush drugs & materials.
iii. To strengthen regulatory frameworks at Central and State level for effective quality control, safety monitoring and surveillance of misleading advertisements of Ayush drugs.
iv. To encourage building up synergies, collaborations and convergent approaches for promoting standards and quality of Ayush drugs & materials.
Besides, 34 State Drug Testing Laboratories have been supported by the Ministry for strengthening their infrastructural and functional capacity. Further, 108 laboratories are approved or licensed under the provisions of the Drugs Rules, 1945 for quality testing of Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani drugs and raw materials.
Under the National Ayush Mission (NAM) scheme, Ministry of Ayush, through the State Governments/UTs, has undertaken several outreach initiatives to extend Ayush healthcare services to rural, remote, tribal and underserved populations. The outreach framework primarily operates through eight Ayush Public Health Programmes (APHPS), Ayush Mobile Medical Units (MMUs), community-based projects such as Ayush Gram, and school/community-level IEC/BCC activities. These initiatives aim to enhance access, awareness, early screening, timely management and promotion of Ayush-based lifestyle practices across diverse population groups.
Ayush Mobile Medical Units (MMU) provide doorstep healthcare services in unserved/tribal and remote habitations. Under NAM, MMUs are deployed to 150 unserved and underserved tribal villages, covering approximately 3 lakh population. Each MMU consists of one Ayush Medical Officer and one Multi-Purpose Worker, covering eight villages per month. It includes services like screening, follow-up, medicine distribution, referral linkage, yoga/nutrition-related IEC/BCC activities and other community-based health interventions.
The programmes approved under the National Ayush Mission based on the State Annual Action Plan (SAAP) of the State Governments/ UT Administrations are implemented by the respective States/UTs as per the NAM guidelines. Outreach activities under the Ayush Gram component of the Scheme involve active collaboration with local Self-Help Groups (SHGs) for:
Community mobilisation and awareness generation,
- Promotion of Ayush-based lifestyle practices and home remedies,
- Supporting medicinal plant-based household preparations,
- Facilitating behaviour-change activities at village level.
This information was given by the Minister of State (IC) for Ayush Shri Pratap Rao Jadhav in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
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