Andhra CM kicks off month-long yoga campaign for public

After the launch of YogAndhra, the official website for the promotion of yoga, Naidu said that the month-long campaign would culminate in a massive event on June 21

Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday launched a month-long YogAndhra-2025 campaign to encourage people to make yoga and meditation a part of their daily lives.

The chief minister also said his government would partner with the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga to train 2,000 school teachers in yoga (PTI)

Speaking to reporters at his residence after the launch of YogAndhra, the official website for the promotion of yoga, Naidu said that the month-long campaign would culminate in a massive event on June 21, on the occasion of International Yoga Day. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be presiding over the event, he added.

“More than 500,000 people would take part in the yoga performance from 7 am to 8 am all along the coast from Rama Krishna Beach to Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district on June 21,” Naidu said, adding that simultaneous arrangements were being made to ensure the participation of at least 20 million people across the state.

The chief minister said YogAndhra-2025 was a genuine mass movement to promote awareness and practice of yoga, and not “a photo-op or a symbolic event.”

“We aim to train 10 lakh (1 million) people in yoga and issue them certificates. Organising such a large-scale yoga session by the sea is a rare opportunity. This picturesque event, set in the lap of nature, will be etched in public memory,” said Naidu.

He added that a team of ministers led by state IT minister Nara Lokesh would oversee the preparations. “Volunteers from universities, public and private organisations, women, elderly, police personnel and employees will all be encouraged to participate, and certificates will be issued to them as well,” he said.

The chief minister also said his government would partner with the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga to train 2,000 school teachers in yoga. “Yoga-related content will be incorporated into school syllabi, and students will receive daily one-hour yoga training once schools reopen,” he added.

Naidu credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for earning yoga global recognition. “Yoga is India’s ancient legacy and a vital part of the Indian lifestyle. It was Prime Minister Modi who elevated yoga to global prominence. In the past, scholars from across the world came to India to learn, but invasions disrupted this cultural continuity. Thanks to Modi, the world has once again come to appreciate the value of yoga,” he said.