Gandhinagar: Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Sunday announced that Rajkot will become India’s first “15-Minute Yoga City”, ensuring that residents can access a yoga centre within 15 minutes from any location in the city.
The initiative will be implemented through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Gujarat State Yoga Board and the Rajkot Municipal Corporation. Patel made the announcement while addressing the state-level celebration of the 12th International Yoga Day at Mansa in Gandhinagar district.
More than 1.25 crore children, youth and senior citizens participated in Yoga Day sessions held simultaneously at over 330 locations across Gujarat. Calling for yoga to become a daily practice rather than an annual event, Patel said it should serve as a force for nation-building and contribute to the vision of “Viksit Gujarat to Viksit Bharat @2047”.
The Chief Minister noted that this year’s Yoga Day coincided with 12 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tenure and credited him with helping yoga gain global recognition as a tool for preventive healthcare.
He said yoga can help address lifestyle-related ailments such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease, and highlighted the 2026 Yoga Day theme, “Yoga for Healthy Ageing”.
Patel said the Gujarat State Yoga Board has trained 1.5 lakh instructors, which is the highest in the country and conducted over 5,000 free classes, reaching more than eight lakh participants in a year.
He also linked yoga with sustainability initiatives such as Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam, Catch the Rain, solar energy, natural farming and Mission LiFE.
State Yoga Board chairman Sheeshpal Rajput led the Common Yoga Protocol, while participants watched Prime Minister Modi’s Yoga Day programme in West Bengal.
