New Delhi, 18 June 2018: A 3-day National Yoga Olympiad was inaugurated at the National Council of Educational Research and Training in CIET in New Delhi today by Mr. Eric Falt, Director and UNESCO Representative of the New Delhi Cluster Office for India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

This is the third consecutive year of National Yoga Olympiad of NCERT and this year about 500 students from 26 States and 4 RIEs are participating in the Olympiad as compared to the participation of students from 25 States/UTs last year.

In his welcome address, Professor Hrushikesh Senapaty, Director, NCERT brought to the attention that the Olympiad creates awareness about a scientific and holistic way of living and the purpose is to create positive attitude among all human beings and promote peaceful living in the society. He quoted the Prime Minister, Shri Narender Modi, “It is our responsibility to ensure that right spirit of yoga is conveyed to everyone”. It is in this backdrop that the Olympiad is organized to create a sense of unity and understanding among children, who have travelled from different parts of the country – both from rural and urban areas.

Professor Saroj Yadav Dean, NCERT narrating the journey of Yoga Olympiad highlighted the importance of yoga in the development of physical, mental and spiritual health. She elaborated about the objectives, target group, yogic practices included and the criteria for judging. She stressed that Yoga Olympiad is an instrument to generate awareness about yoga among children and building team spirit and confidence.

After witnessing a mesmerizing yoga performance by young students from Government Girls school from Rewari, Haryana and Students from Girls School of Kerala, the Chief Guest, Mr. Eric Falt, thanked the NCERT for the opportunity to see such a performance.

Two books – Joy of Theatre and Sangeet— training packages were released on the occasion.