Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani said on Monday that six central universities would start new or revamped yoga departments from the coming academic year and the number would be raised to 20 within a year.
Ms. Irani was addressing a ‘National Seminar on Yoga’ here, where she also urged heads of technological institutions to help in providing empirical evidence on the benefits of yoga. Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University in Uttarakhand, Visva Bharati in Shantiniketan, Central University of Kerala, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University in Amarkantak, Manipur University in Imphal and the Central University of Rajasthan will begin these departments from the next session. The UGC is also considering to include NET exam for yogic sciences to address the issue of finding teachers for this subject.
