Visasana: Yoga learners to be given easier access to India

After enlisting June 21 as International Yoga Day in the United Nations, India is all set to make the best of its image as the yoga guru.

To wrest back yoga learning from the West and the US and make India the preferred destination to learn the ancient art, the Central government has decided to include short-term yoga programmes in tourist and e-tourist visas.

The government is expecting yoga to turn into a major foreign currency earner with this step. Worldwide, yoga is estimated to be an $80 billion industry and still expanding at a good rate because of lifestyle ailments.

The Union home ministry said: "Realising the spread and importance of yoga the world over, the government has decided to include 'attending a short-term yoga programme' in the list of permissible activities under tourist visa.

Besides, the government has decided to include a 'short duration medical treatment under Indian systems of medicine' in the list of permissible activities under e-Tourist Visa."

At present, a tourist visa is granted to a foreigner whose sole objective of visiting India is recreation, sight-seeing and casual visit to meet friends or relatives and e-tourist visas are issued to a foreigner whose sole objective of visiting India, apart from the above, is short duration medical treatment or casual business visit.

The decision is expected to benefit yoga learning centres that are already being run by Baba Ramdev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and others.

"We hope people from all over the world will head for India to learn yoga as not only we provide real learning but it is also very cheap here. We expect new start-ups to seize this initiative," said an official.