Category: NATION

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday conveyed to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian India’s “deep concern” over Iran’s conflict with Israel and called for immediate de-escalation of the situation through “dialogue and diplomacy”.

The phone conversation between Modi and Pezeshkian came hours after the US bombed three major nuclear sites — Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan — in Iran, bringing itself into the Israel-Iran conflict.

In a social media post, Modi said he expressed “deep concern” at the recent escalations and that dialogue and diplomacy are the way forward for early restoration of regional peace.

“We discussed in detail about the current situation. Expressed deep concern at the recent escalations,” Modi said.

“Reiterated our call for immediate de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward and for early restoration of regional peace, security and stability,” the prime minister added.

The US attack on the Iranian nuclear facilities triggered fears of a wider regional conflict, with many leading countries and blocs calling for restraint.

Soon after American B-2 bombers struck the Iranian installations, US President Donald Trump said the Iranian nuclear facilities were “completely and totally obliterated”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US has committed a “grave violation” of the UN Charter, international law and the nuclear non-proliferation treaty by attacking Iran’s “peaceful nuclear installations”.

“The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences. Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behaviour,” he said.

Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, he said in a statement.

The 27-nation European Union urged all sides to step back and return to the negotiating table.

“I urge all sides to step back, return to the negotiating table and prevent further escalation,” EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said.

The EU foreign ministers will be discussing the situation on Monday.

The UK and many other nations have also appealed for calm.

However, China and Russia are yet to officially react to the unfolding situation arising out of the US bombing.

New Delhi: India on Sunday evacuated more than 300 Indian nationals from Iran amid the escalating tensions between the Persian Gulf nation and Israel following the US bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said 311 Indians landed in Delhi on a special flight from the Iranian city of Mashhad.

With the fresh batch of evacuees, the total number of those brought back from Iran now stands at 1,428.

Three-hundred eleven Indian nationals arrived in New Delhi on a special flight from Mashhad at 1630 hours on June 22, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

He said a total of 1,428 Indian nationals have been evacuated from Iran so far.

India launched Operation Sindhu last week to bring back Indians from Iran and Israel in view of increasing hostilities between the two nations.

Israel and Iran have fired hundreds of missiles and drones at each other’s cities and military and strategic facilities since the hostilities began over a week back.

The tensions escalated significantly following the US bombing of three major Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday morning.

India has evacuated its nationals on chartered flights operated from the Iranian city of Mashhad, the Armenian capital of Yerevan and the Turkmenistan capital of Ashgabat since Wednesday.

Iran lifted airspace restrictions on Friday to facilitate three chartered flights from Mashhad.

The first flight landed in New Delhi late on Friday with 290 Indians, and the second one landed in the national capital on Saturday afternoon with 310 Indians.

Another flight arrived from the Armenian capital city of Yerevan on Thursday. A special evacuation flight from Ashgabat landed in New Delhi early on Saturday morning.

New Delhi: Left parties on Sunday strongly condemned the US strikes on nuclear sites in Iran and said the move was a grave violation of Iranian sovereignty and the UN Charter.

In a statement issued here, the Left parties said the US action will inflame global tensions, destabilise West Asia and have severe economic repercussions.

“The undersigned five Left parties strongly condemn the United States’ bombing of Iran. This is a grave violation of Iranian sovereignty and the UN Charter, and it will inflame global tensions, destabilise West Asia and have severe economic repercussions,” they said in the statement.

The statement was jointly issued by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, Revolutionary Socialist Party and Forward Bloc.

The five Left parties said the US and Israel are justifying their attacks by claiming that Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon, however, it is important to note that the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said on June 19 that they did not have any proof of a systematic effort on Iran’s part to develop a nuclear weapon.

“Even US intelligence agencies acknowledged that they did not possess conclusive evidence indicating that Iran was developing a nuclear weapon. Furthermore, Iran remains a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT),” they said.

The Left parties said Israel launched an attack on Iran on June 12 to sabotage any potential negotiations between the latter and the US and now, the US has joined Israel in this act of aggression, even though President Donald Trump had given a two-week window to Iran for talks.

“This clearly demonstrates that the US-Israel axis has little regard for its own intelligence assessments or any diplomatic process, and is intent on imposing war on Iran and the entire West Asian region. This makes it evident that the real intention is to destroy Iran, establish imperialist hegemony over West Asia, and control the global flow of resources,” they said.

“This attack is aimed at serving the interests of the military-industrial complex and enabling international capital to navigate its way out of the prolonged crisis,” they said.

The Left parties compared the situation with the US invasion of Iraq, which they said was done on “similarly unverified claims that were later proven false”.

“It is ironic that the US, the only country to have ever used a nuclear weapon — despite Japan being ready to negotiate at the end of the Second World War — is now speaking about the threat of nuclear weapons!” they said.

The Left parties said the US attack will, in all likelihood, drastically escalate the conflict, with disastrous implications for global peace and the livelihoods of ordinary people — especially in countries like India, which rely heavily on West Asia for oil imports and opportunities for migrant labourers.

“The already-burdened working masses will be the worst affected by the economic fallout of the war,” they said.

They asserted that the Indian government should “immediately abandon its pro-US, pro-Israel foreign policy stance and join global efforts to stop the war”.

“We call upon all our units to immediately organise protest actions against this act of imperialist aggression and urge all peace-loving people of our country to join us in condemning the US attack,” the parties said.

In a post on X, CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby warned that the fallout of the strikes will be global, including for India.

“The economic and political fallout will be global, including for India. The US has proved itself to be the No. 1 rogue state. Call for protest action wherever possible,” he said.

Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said the peace-loving people of the world must condemn this blatant act of US aggression.

“The US has now directly attacked Iran. After destroying Iraq, Libya and Syria, the US-Israel axis of aggression wants to destroy Iran and destabilise and subjugate the whole of West Asia,” he said in a statement.

“The peace-loving people of the world must condemn this blatant act of US aggression. India must not support the US-Israel axis in this totally unjust war and demand an immediate end to imperialist invasion of Iran,” Bhattacharya added.

The US bombed three nuclear sites in Iran overnight, with Trump warning of additional strikes if Iran retaliates.

Chandigarh: An army personnel posted in Jammu and his aide have been arrested for their alleged involvement in espionage activities linked to Pakistan’s spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), a top Punjab Police officer on Sunday.

Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said one of the accused has been identified as Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Dhariwal in Amritsar serving in the Indian Army in Jammu. His associate has been identified as Sahil Masih who also belongs to Dhariwal, the police chief said.

Preliminary investigation revealed that Singh was in direct contact with operatives of the ISI and is suspected of sharing sensitive and confidential information via pen drives, he said.

In an intelligence-led operation, police arrested Gurpreet and  Masih, while they were attempting another handover of sensitive data, the DGP said, adding that the key ISI handler involved in the case has been identified as Rana Javed.

The DGP said two mobile phones containing virtual numbers, used to communicate with ISI operatives, have been recovered from both the accused. Further investigations are underway to dismantle the broader espionage-terror network and identify all collaborators in this case, Yadav added.

Sharing more details, Senior Superintendent of Police (Amritsar Rural) Maninder Singh claimed that Gurpreet, who was recruited by the Army in 2016, systematically exploited his official position to collect, store and transmit classified military information via pen drives and discs.

The espionage network was facilitated by an acquaintance identified as Arjan, a Dubai-based drug trafficker from Dhariwal, who introduced Gurpreet to ISI operatives five months ago, he alleged.

Since then, Gurpreet has actively engaged in the unauthorised collection and relay of sensitive military data to the ISI using pre-decided drop locations, the DGP said.

In lieu of this espionage activity, Gurpreet was receiving monetary compensation through a complex financial network involving intermediary bank accounts of friends, relatives, and foreign associates to evade detection, he informed reporters.

A case under the Official Secrets Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has been registered at the Lopoke police station in Amritsar.

Raipur: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said Naxalites won’t get rest during monsoon as operations against them will continue during rains, even as he ruled out talks and appealed to the ultras to lay down arms and join the journey of development.

Since January last year, more than 400 Maoist ultras have been gunned down by security forces in separate encounters in the state, the most notable being the killing of Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju (70), the general secretary and top most operative of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist), in Bastar on May 21.

“Every time during monsoon, Naxalites used to get rest (as swollen rivers hamper anti-Naxal operations inside dense forest). But this time, we will not let them sleep during monsoon and we will move further to achieve the target of 31/3 (2026 to eliminate Naxalism)”, Shah said.

He appealed to Naxals to surrender, join the journey of development and avail of the benefits of a “lucrative” surrender policy.

“No need for talks. Just give up armed struggle and join the mainstream. I wholeheartedly welcome all those who have laid down arms and joined the mainstream and assure them whatever promises the Chhattisgarh government and the Centre have made to them will be fulfilled. We will try to help you even more,” he added.

Speaking after laying the foundation stones for the National Forensic Science University (NFSU) campus and a Central Forensic Science Lab in Chhattisgarh’s Nava Raipur Atal Nagar, he said the complete implementation of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam will make India’s criminal justice system the most modern, speedy and scientific justice system in the world.

“The country will enter into an era of more evidence-based criminal justice. After complete implementation of three criminal laws, any FIR registered in any corner of our country will ensure justice to the complainant and the victim up to the Supreme Court within 3 years. There will be no delay in justice for more than three years,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of making India a developed nation by 2047 not only focuses on innovation, infrastructure, industrial and economic progress but also ensuring timely justice and the three new laws will help in this regard, he said.

“There was a time when arguments for justice were based on feelings or imagination and evidence, but I believe that where there is proof, scientific evidence, only then the accurate result comes. With the help of FSL (forensic science lab), India will be among the countries with the highest conviction rate in the world in a few years,” he said.

The new laws make it mandatory for the forensic science team to visit the scene of any crime in which the punishment is more than seven years, Shah said.

Shah said the NFSU campus in Nava Raipur will cost Rs 145 crore and CFSL Rs 123 crore, adding these will come up in three years.

Graduation from NFSU means a job guarantee and youth of Chhattisgarh must grab this great opportunity, he added.

“In the coming years, 32000 forensic experts will emerge every year and our requirement is not more than 30000 every year. We will become self-reliant in the field of forensic science. Yesterday, someone sent me a survey which claims the global forensic technology market is worth USD 20 billion and will be worth 55 billion US dollars by 2036 with a 13 per cent compound annual growth rate,” he said.

The survey estimates India’s share in it to be 9 per cent, which means there is huge potential for the youth to explore, he added.

“Chhattisgarh has four regional State Forensic Science Laboratories in Ambikapur, Bilaspur, Durg and Jagdalpur. Now CFSL will also be set up which will give huge strength to our criminal justice system. Now no one will have to go to any other state and there will be no need to send forensic samples to Delhi for investigation. The entire investigation will be done in Nava Raipur Atal Nagar itself,” he added.

Within a short time, the NFSU has 16 campuses, seven of which have been established and nine have been approved. Ten additional campuses are proposed, which will see NFSU expand its operations to 26 major locations nationwide, Shah said.

During the function, Shah also virtually inaugurated the NFSU transit campus in Sejbahar here and i-Hub Chhattisgarh.

After the Sai government took over, MoUs worth Rs 5 lakh crore have been signed in recent investment summits, Shah said, but added that the state’s industrial revolution cannot happen till its youth become entrepreneurs themselves.

“If someone from outside sets up an industry, employment, revenue and possibilities will increase. But when the youth of Chhattisgarh become MSME industrialists, create their own startups, they will create a culture of industrial adventurism. Chhattisgarh will not be able to develop until then,” he said.

The i-Hub High Hope initiative launched during the day will not only help youth create startups but will also give them technological support and check the practicality of their ventures, Shah said.

A similar centre has been set up in Gujarat and it is doing very good work, Shah said.

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, Deputy CMs Arun Sao and Vijay Sharma, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Director of Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka and Chhattisgarh Chief Secretary Amitabh Jain were present on the occasion.

 

New Delhi: The BJP on Saturday hit out at Rahul Gandhi, saying the Congress leader cannot see the transformation happening in the country under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership because he is too busy “undermining India’s progress”.

This came after Gandhi launched a fresh salvo at Prime Minister Modi, and said he has mastered the “art of slogans” but offered no solutions, claiming that India’s manufacturing was at a record low despite the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

Hitting back, BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari wrote in a post on X, “Rahul ji, everyone in India can see the transformation, except you. Maybe because you’re too busy undermining India’s progress to notice it.”

Operation Sindoor is the latest and “landmark example” of India’s manufacturing prowess where India’s indigenous developed drones destroyed Chinese drones, he added.

Citing various data indicating progress made under the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Modi government, BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said Rahul Gandhi’s narratives are “outdated, misinformed, and disconnected from reality”.

“India is building. India is growing. India is leading,” he said in a post on X.

Under PM Modi, India has transformed from an importer to a global manufacturing powerhouse, Malviya added.

Bhandari said since 2014 under PM Modi’s leadership, engineering exports have surged by 60 per cent while defence exports “skyrocketed from just Rs 686 crore to over Rs 23,000 crore”.

“From importing 70 per cent of our defence equipment, India now manufactures 65 per cent of its needs domestically. PMI is at a 10-month high, signalling industrial strength,” he said.

Bhandari said India under Modi’s leadership supplied 60 per cent of the world’s COVID-19 vaccines, becoming the “pharmacy of the world”.

India is now the second largest mobile phone manufacturer globally, he added.

“While Indian startups and entrepreneurs were burning the midnight oil to build a world-class drone industry, you (Rahul Gandhi) were busy endorsing Chinese drones and promoting Chinese brands on Indian soil,” the BJP spokesperson charged.

Bhandari said Gandhi never believed in ‘Make in India’ because ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ doesn’t align with his “imported ideology.”

“What was there in that secret MoU which you signed with the Communist Party of China,” Bhandari asked.

Malviya, in his post on X, said “Let’s bust the myths — with facts”.

He said the PLI scheme, which Gandhi claimed had failed, has led to cumulative investments of Rs 10,905 crore, total production worth Rs 7.15 lakh crore and exports of Rs 3.9 lakh crore.

“Electronics production value rose from Rs 18,900 crore (FY14) to Rs 4,22,000 crore (FY24). Mobile phone exports surged 77-fold from Rs 1,566 crore (2014-15) to Rs 1.2 lakh crore (2023-24),” he said.

He added that 99.2 per cent of mobile phones sold in India are now made in India, up from just 26 per cent in 2014-15.

Malviya further said that under the PLI scheme for electronics alone, 1,39,670 direct jobs have already been created.

As many as 1.8 lakh new companies were registered in 2023-24, marking a 16 per cent increase over the previous year, he said.

“Electronics exports hit USD 38+ billion in FY24-25, a 32 per cent year-on-year increase,” Malviya said.

“PLI allocations for electronics rose from Rs 5,747 crore (FY24-25) to Rs 8,885 crore (FY25-26) — a clear signal of continued commitment,” he added.

Malviya said the government has approved landmark semiconductor projects worth Rs 1.52 lakh crore, “a critical leap into deep-tech manufacturing”.

Overall, electronics production is projected to reach USD 300 billion by 2026, he said.

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused the Election Commission of India of “deleting evidence” when it was required to “provide answers” after the poll body instructed its officers to destroy CCTV, webcasting and video footage of the elections after 45 days.

“Voter list? Will not give machine-readable format. CCTV footage? Hidden by changing the law. Election photos and videos? Now they will be deleted in 45 days, not 1 year. The one who was supposed to provide answers – is the one deleting the evidence,” Gandhi alleged in a post on X.

“It is clear that the match is fixed. And a fixed election is poison for democracy,” the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha posted in Hindi.

Gandhi has been demanding voter lists, poll data and video footage from the election commission, alleging irregularities in Maharashtra assembly elections.

The Congress leader’s reaction came after the poll body instructed its state poll officers to destroy CCTV, webcasting and video footage of the election process after 45 days if the verdict is not challenged in courts within that period, saying it feared the use of its electronic data to create “malicious narratives”.

In a letter to state chief electoral officers on May 30, the EC said it has issued instructions for recording various stages of the election process through multiple recording devices — photography, videography, CCTV, and webcasting during the election process.

While electoral laws do not mandate such recordings, the commission uses them as an internal management tool during various stages of the electoral process.

“However, the recent misuse of this content by non-contestants for spreading misinformation and malicious narratives on social media by selective and out-of-context use of such content, which will not lead to any legal outcome, has prompted a review,” it said.

It has now told its state poll chiefs that the CCTV data, webcasting data and photography of election processes at various stages will be preserved for 45 days.

“If no election petition is filed in respect of a particular constituency, then the said data may be destroyed,” it instructed.

Any person can file an “election petition” challenging the poll verdict in the concerned high court within 45 days.

Tehran: India is evacuating all its citizens from Iran, the Indian mission here said on Saturday, amid Iran’s ongoing conflict with Israel.

In a post on X, the Indian Embassy here provided emergency contact numbers and a link to a Telegram channel.

“The Indian Embassy in Iran is evacuating all Indian Nationals in Iran. The Embassy may be contacted either on the Telegram channel or over the emergency contact numbers. +989010144557, +989128109115 +989128109109,” it said.

In another post, the embassy said that its evacuation efforts will also cover citizens of Nepal and Sri Lanka.

“On request of the Governments of Nepal and Sri Lanka, the Indian Embassy’s evacuation efforts in Iran will also cover Citizens of Nepal and Sri Lanka,” it said.

“The citizens of Nepal and Sri Lanka may urgently reach out to the Embassy, either on the Telegram channel or over the emergency contact numbers. +989010144557; +989128109115; +989128109109,” it added.

In Colombo, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry also advised its citizens in Iran to contact the Indian Embassy in Tehran if they wish to leave the country.

“The government of Sri Lanka has made arrangements with the government of India to assist Sri Lankans who wish to leave Iran by accommodating them in the flights,” the ministry said in an official release.

According to the Foreign Ministry, there are less than 100 Sri Lankan nationals in Iran, while some 20,000 are employed in Israel.

In Kathmandu, Nepal’s Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba’s secretariat said she requested the Indian government to rescue 16 Nepalese nationals who were stranded in Iran.

Foreign Minister Deuba requested the Indian government, through Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava, to include the Nepali nationals during the evacuation of Indians from Iran.

Deuba took to X to thank External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for India’s swift assistance.

“Thank you @DrSJaishankar for India’s swift assistance in helping to evacuate Nepali nationals from Iran. India’s support in Nepal’s evacuation efforts is a reflection of the strength of Nepal-India ties,” Deuba wrote.

Of the 16 Nepali nationals, five are currently in Iranian prisons due to immigration-related offences, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, adding, efforts are underway to secure their release and repatriation as part of the evacuation process.

India on Wednesday announced the launch of “Operation Sindhu” to evacuate its nationals from Iran after its conflict with Israel, which has entered its second week, showed no sign of letting up.

On Saturday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that over 500 Indian nationals have returned home from Iran under Operation Sindhu so far.

Ahmedabad: A total of 247 victims of the horrific June 12 Ahmedabad plane crash have been identified through DNA tests so far and 232 bodies have been handed over to kin, officials said on Saturday.

The London-bound aircraft crashed into a hostel complex in Meghaninagar moments after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1.39 pm that day, killing 270 persons, including 241 on board. One passenger survived.

Authorities are carrying out DNA tests to establish the identity of the victims as many bodies were charred beyond recognition as the aircraft burst into flames or damaged on impact.

“Till Saturday evening, 247 DNA samples have matched. Relatives of these deceased were contacted. So far, mortal remains of 232 victims have been handed over to families. The process is continuing,” Ahmedabad Civil Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Rakesh Joshi said.

The 247 victims who have been identified comprise 187 Indians, 52 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals and a Canadian, said Joshi.

Of the 187 Indians, a total of 175 were on board the ill-fated aircraft, he said, adding they belong to areas in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Diu and Nagaland.

The state government had earlier stated that samples of 250 victims, including persons on board the ill-fated flight as well as those killed on the ground, were collected for identification.

New Delhi: From the icy heights of Siachen Glacier to naval ships anchored in Visakhapatnam, the Indian armed forces on Saturday observed the International Day of Yoga across the country, reaffirming their commitment to discipline and inner strength.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh led the celebrations in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur, accompanied by Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi.

“There was a time when yoga was considered limited to saints and seers. But today, people are performing Surya Namaskar on mats from New York’s Times Square to lawns near the Eiffel Tower. Is it less than a miracle?” Singh said.

This is the “rising soft power” of India, and yoga has become its “strongest ambassador”, he added.

The Indian Air Force also joined in the celebrations.

At an event held at Delhi-based Western Air Command of the IAF, a large of number of its personnel and their family members gathered at Subroto Park to engage in yoga routines, and in the middle of the field a symbolic formation of ‘OP SINDOOR’ was made with people standing on mats and doing various ‘asanas’.

The famous Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) also shared a video clip in a post on X, showing some air warriors performing yoga routines with a Surya Kiran aircraft parked behind them on a tarmac.

A senior Army official said Yoga Day was celebrated with great fervour and spirit across the country.

From the edges of Pangong Tso lake to Port Blair, and from Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh to the Rann of Kachchh, soldiers performed yoga, embracing the ancient Indian practice as a tool for physical, mental and emotional resilience, the official said.

The Army Chief’s presence at the Udhampur event underscored the importance of yoga in “enhancing combat readiness and stress management among troops”, he said.

In Delhi, Vice Chief of the Army Staff Lieutenant General N S Raja Subramani performed yoga with troops and families at Cariappa Parade Ground, joined by more than 3,400 participants, including defence attaches from 25 countries, NCC cadets and school students.

In Visakhapatnam, Indian Navy personnel participated in the main yoga day celebrations led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sessions were held along the R K Beach and onboard Navy ships anchored nearby.

“As the sun rose over the RK Beach, personnel and families of the Sunrise Command, along with the citizens of Andhra Pradesh, came together in breath and spirit with the Hon’ble PM… embracing the energy of the sea and sky,” Eastern Naval Command posted on X.

A Navy spokesperson said nearly 10,000 people, naval personnel and family members, from the Eastern Naval Command participated in the event.

Navy Chief Adm Dinesh K Tripathi, and Shashi Tripathi, president, NWWA (Navy Wives Welfare Association) led the naval participation at Visakhapatnam, the official said.

The maritime lineup included frontline Eastern Fleet ships and Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Vessels — Veera and Vigraha — stationed at the Visakhapatnam anchorage off the RK Beach.

The Navy also shared a video of crew members of aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, and others performing yoga onboard it.

A common yoga protocol session were conducted at all naval bases and ships at sea and in harbour including at foreign ports.

Trainees of friendly foreign navies also participated in the activities with zeal.

Indian naval warships mission deployed across Indian Ocean Region, conducted yoga session at sea and in foreign ports in Mauritius, Oman, Malaysia and Indonesia, the spokesperson said

The Indian Coast Guard also held a ‘Yoga Sangam’ event at its Noida complex in collaboration with Yog Vandana Institute. Similar sessions were conducted at more than 60 locations across India’s coastline and island territories

The defence ministry on Saturday said nine lakh cadets of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) participated in synchronised yoga sessions at iconic locations across the country to celebrate the day, epitomising the nation’s unwavering commitment to health and wellness.

Indian Army personnel deployed on United Nations peacekeeping missions and with military training teams abroad also marked the occasion with yoga sessions, the officials said.

Indian troops participating in the multilateral exercise ‘Khaan Quest’ in Mongolia and the bilateral exercise ‘Shakti’ in France conducted yoga with fellow international soldiers, reflecting India’s cultural outreach.

These widespread celebrations reflect the Indian Army’s belief in the motto ‘Yoga Karmasu Kaushalam’ (Yoga is excellence in action), and its resolve to incorporate yoga into the daily regimen of personnel.

The theme for this year’s International Day of Yoga is ‘Yoga for One Earth, One Health’.