PM Modi Leads 11th International Yoga Day at Vizag

India

-Prakash KL

Updated: Saturday, June 21, 2025, 8:22 [IST]

Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
on
Saturday
joined
a
grand
International
Yoga
Day
event
in
Andhra
Pradesh.
The
event
is
taking
place
along
a
26-km
stretch
from
RK
Beach
in
Visakhapatnam
to
Bhogapuram.
Over
3
lakh
participants
are
expected
to
perform
yoga
simultaneously
at
this
location.

Deputy
Chief
Minister
Pawan
Kalyan
expressed
his
warm
welcome
to
PM
Modi,
who
arrived
in
Visakhapatnam
on
Friday
evening.
“I
extend
my
hearty
welcome
to
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
who
has
arrived
to
participate
in
the
International
Yoga
Day
tomorrow
(Saturday)
in
Visakha
city
(Vizag)
where
lakhs
of
people
will
participate
in
the
Yogandhra
event
being
conducted
by
Andhra
Pradesh
government,” he
stated
on
‘X’.

Massive
Participation
and
Record
Attempts

The
Andhra
Pradesh
government
aims
to
set
multiple
records
during
this
event,
including
a
Guinness
World
Record.
Chief
Minister
N
Chandrababu
Naidu
mentioned
that
the
event,
scheduled
from
6:30
am
to
8
am,
will
be
organised
to
gain
recognition
and
establish
records.

The
theme
for
the
11th
International
Yoga
Day
is
‘Yoga
for
One
Earth,
One
Health’.
This
day
is
celebrated
globally
by
numerous
countries.
The
state
plans
to
mobilise
several
lakh
people
not
only
in
Visakhapatnam
but
also
across
various
locations
within
Andhra
Pradesh
on
June
21.

Extensive
Preparations
Across
the
State

In
preparation
for
this
large-scale
event,
extensive
arrangements
have
been
made
along
the
26-km
corridor
from
RK
Beach
to
Bhogapuram.
The
Chief
Minister
noted
that
up
to
3.19
lakh
individuals
can
perform
yoga
simultaneously
at
RK
Beach.

The
government
has
identified
over
1.3
lakh
locations
across
the
state
for
yoga
activities
on
June
21.
Additionally,
alternative
arrangements
have
been
made
for
accommodating
30,000
participants
in
Vizag.

Yogandhra
Campaign
and
Tribal
Participation

A
month-long
campaign
named
‘Yogandhra’
was
launched
by
the
southern
state
to
raise
awareness
about
yoga.
This
initiative
included
numerous
activities
related
to
this
ancient
Indian
practice.

As
part
of
this
campaign,
around
15,000
yoga
competitions
were
held
from
village
level
up
to
state
level.
A
total
of
5,451
master
trainers
contributed
their
expertise,
and
over
one
crore
participants
received
certification
for
various
yoga
programmes.

Logistics
and
Infrastructure

For
smooth
execution
of
this
mega
event,
officials
have
prepared
326
compartments
with
each
accommodating
up
to
1,000
people.
Additionally,
they
have
arranged
for
3.32
lakh
t-shirts
and
five
lakh
yoga
mats
for
participants.

An
impressive
number
of
registrations
have
been
recorded
for
yoga
day
activities
with
an
estimated
two-crore
registrations
surpassing
expectations
at
reaching
2.39
crore
participants
worldwide.

The
government
aims
to
conduct
yoga
sessions
at
one
lakh
centres
throughout
the
state
while
attracting
five
lakh
individuals
specifically
in
Visakhapatnam
alone.

“As
many
as
25,000
tribal
students
will
perform
Surya
Namaskars
for
108
minutes,”
said
Naidu.
“The
objective
is
to
set
records
for
the
largest
group
and
most
people
performing
Surya
Namaskars
simultaneously.”

However,
Prime
Minister
Modi’s
cabinet
members
and
BJP
leaders
across
the
country
are
taking
part
in
the
Yoga
Day
events.
Defence
Minister
Rajnath
Singh
is
in
Udhampur
in
Jammu
and
Kashmir
for
the
special
day
celebration.

Speaking
at
the
occasion,
he
said,
“As
we
said
earlier,
Operation
Sindoor
is
not
over
yet…
India
is
fully
prepared
to
take
every
step
against
terrorism…
Today,
when
we
are
celebrating
International
Yoga
Day,
we
should
also
understand
the
true
meaning
of
the
word
Yoga.
Yoga
means
connecting
every
section
of
society
with
the
culture
and
soul
of
India.
This
is
Yoga.”

Uttar
Pradesh
took
part
in
Yoga
Day
celebration
in
Gorakhpur.
Speaking
at
the
occasion,
he
said,
“Your
wishes
are
fulfilled
only
if
you
are
healthy
physically…
You
can
reach
a
higher
level
of
spirituality
through
Yoga…
It’s
the
tradition
of
our
Rishis
that
has
been
kept
alive
by
our
Vedas,
Puranas
and
other
texts…”