Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) through National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has undertaken multi-dimensional initiatives to promote integration of Yoga in school curriculum. NCERT has developed textual materials on Yoga for Healthy Living for Upper Primary to Secondary Stages and also has been organising Yoga Olympiad since 2016. In COVID-19 situation  children are being guided by their teachers and parents at home to do yogic practices along with physical exercises based on Alternative Academic Calendar developed for different stages of school education. But due to the outbreak of Corona pandemic, it is difficult to organise Yoga Olympiad this year. To enable students to learn at home and be safe, Union Human Resource Development Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' through social media launched an Online Yoga Quiz Competition organised by NCERT.

Speaking on the occasion Union HRD Minister said that the objective of this Competition is to create awareness and to motivate children to acquire comprehensive information from authentic sources on different yogic practices. The Minister said that the competition aims at developing deep understanding and motivating  children to apply the understanding of these practices in one’s  life and living. He added that the Competition will also help children to develop healthy habits and lifestyle and thereby promote a sound emotional and mental wellbeing.

Shri Pokhriyal informed that the Yoga Quiz Competition will be on different dimensions of yoga: Yama and Niymaa Shatkarma/Kriya, Asanas, Pranayama, Meditation, Bandha and Mudra based on the syllabi developed by NCERT. He further informed that the competition, is open for all students of classes 6 to 12 across the country. The Minister highlighted that the steps have been taken to promote active participation of students with special needs by converting question from text to audio.  The questions asked in this online Competition will be of Multiple Choice type. These will be available to children both in Hindi and English language. The Child can opt appropriate language. Certificate of merit shall be issued to 100 top scorers.

The detailed scheme has already been uploaded on NCERT website (ncert.nic.in). The quiz will be open for one month, starting on 21st June and will close on 20 July midnight, 2020. Link of the quiz is given as under:

English Quiz=     https://bit.ly/EYQ_NEWS

Hindi Quiz=         https://bit.ly/HYQ_NEWS

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NB/AKJ/AK