Private sector finds cause on International Yoga Day

It isn't just the government and its organisations that are leaving no stone unturned in its efforts to make International Yoga Day a success - the private sector in India too has taken up the cause with an enthusiasm that is quite unprecedented.

Several companies such as Tata Power, Orange, Vodafone, HDFC Bank, Deutsche Bank, Barclays, KPMG, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Fresh, Ashok Leyland, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank and SEBI Financial Regulators are running workshops for employees today, stressing yoga's health benefits.

Several have announced promotional activities and are offering freebies to consumers - in the beauty Lakme Salon is offering a 20% off on organic services, while VLCC conducting a free hour-long yoga session at its centres across India.

Even Ola, the mobile-based taxi service, has jumped on to the bandwagon - it has a competition whose winner can win a free ride to a yoga centre. Says Anand Subramanian, director of marketing communications, Ola, "We have partnered with some of the best studios in ten cities to help introduce Yoga among users of the Ola app." Many have chosen to launch new, yoga-centric products - sports wear brand Reebok is out with a range of clothes and accessories for enthusiasts, and so has e-tailer Snapdeal, throwing in week-long discounts to mark the day.

In an innovative gesture, airline operator Spice Jet has got Jaggi Vasudev's Isha Foundation to teach simple yogic practices to passengers on board its flights. Clearly, yoga is a huge trend that the corporates are just waking up to. A study conducted by industry body ASSOCHAM (Associated Chambers of Commerce of India) earlier this year, found that that around 14.3 million people in the India practised yoga in 2013, whereas the numbers in 2001 was just 6.3 million. Globally, there are anywhere between 200 to 250 million practitioners of yoga, who constitute a large market. According to statistics compiled in the US, the revenues from yoga in the country were $6.85 billion and would grow to $8.74 in 2017.

Indian entrepreneurs have largely failed to take advantage of the global yoga boom - most, cheap PVC mats are made in China, and specialised yoga apparel are Western. But now Bangalore startup, Proyog, is launching a global "Make in India" yoga wear brand. Co-founder and Product Head, Malika Baruah asserts, "Yoga wear across the globe has been largely sportswear in disguise. We have taken extensive research with yoga teachers and textile engineers and over two years to develop the fabrics and twelve styles of garments."

India might reap other benefits, too. The ASSOCHAM study estimated that the demand for yoga trainers would grow by 30-35 per cent in the next couple of years, and that yoga tourism would become a growing source of income. Yoga's popularity among celebrities makes teaching yoga a lucrative profession, with earnings between Rs 400 to Rs 1,500 per hour, the study said.