Hundreds of yoga enthusiasts led by Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot and Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao participated in a mass yoga demonstration to mark the 11th International Yoga Day on June 21.

The event, organised by the AYUSH Ministry on the theme ‘Yoga for One Earth, One Health’, was part of a nationwide ‘Yoga Sangam’ initiative. Organised by the Karnataka AYUSH Department in collaboration with yoga associations, civil society groups, and wellness organisations, the celebration in Bengaluru was one of the largest yoga gatherings in Karnataka.

International Yoga Day 2025

Inaugurating the event, the Governor emphasised the importance of yoga as a unifying force and a path to holistic health. He participated in various yoga asanas along with the Health Minister and other dignitaries, inspiring the public to inculcate a healthy lifestyle.

Yoga at NIMHANS

The Department of Integrative Medicine at NIMHANS, organised yoga sessions dedicated to promoting mental well-being through yoga. This year’s celebration featured a unique initiative titled ‘Yoga Samavesha – A Yoga-based Mental Health Initiative for Older Adults’, supported by the Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN), Union Ministry of AYUSH. 

Aimed at bringing attention to the mental health needs of senior citizens and older adults, particularly those residing in old age homes across Bengaluru, this programme witnessed participation by groups of senior citizens from across Bengaluru. The session was specially designed and tailored to support their mental health, emotional balance, and physical vitality, doctors said.

Separate mass yoga sessions were organised for staff and students at Gymkhana ground, and for patients at Ashwini Hall in NIMHANS.

Elsewhere in the city, Karnataka BJP president B.Y. Vijayendra led a yoga session with party workers at the office of the BJP.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday (June 21, 2025) warned Pakistan that any future terror attack on Indian soil will have serious consequences on the country as Operation Sindoor is not over yet and India is ready to take any action against the menace.

Addressing troops of Udhampur-based northern command after joining them on the occasion of International Yoga Day, the Defence Minister said Operation Sindoor conveyed a message to Pakistan that their “thousand cut” policy against India is not going to succeed.

“Operation Sindoor is not over yet… through this operation, we have told Pakistan that continuing terrorism against India will not be tolerated and the response will get from bad to worse,” Mr. Singh, flanked by Army chief Upendra Dwivedi, said.

Under Operation Sindoor, Indian Armed forces struck terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir during the intervening night of May 6 and 7 in retaliation to Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 persons, mostly tourists, dead on April 22.

“Operation Sindoor was a natural progression of 2016 surgical strike and 2019 air strike [across the border]. We conveyed to Pakistan that its policy of thousand cuts against India will not succeed.

“Any terror attack on the soil of India will prove disastrous for Pakistan. India is ready to take any type of action against terrorism,” Mr. Singh said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested two persons, including a senior official of the Punjab National Bank (PNB), for their alleged involvement in a ₹183 crore forged bank guarantee submission fraud to secure multiple irrigation projects in Madhya Pradesh, the agency said on Friday (June 20, 2025).

According to a statement from the CBI, Govind Chandra Hansda, a senior manager at PNB, and Mohammed Firoz Khan were arrested from Kolkata after multiple raids at 23 locations in New Delhi, West Bengal, Gujarat, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh on June 19 and 20. The arrests expose an inter-state gang involved in helping companies obtain fake bank guarantees to secure government projects in various States, it said. 

The CBI, as per the statement, launched an investigation into the matter after registering three separate cases on May 9, based on directions from the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

The agency said that Teerth Gopicon Ltd., an Indore-based company, secured three irrigation projects in 2023 in Madhya Pradesh, worth ₹974 crore from Madhya Pradesh Jal Nigam Limited (MPJNL). 

“To support these contracts, eight fake bank guarantees valued at ₹183.21 crores were submitted to the MPJNL,” the CBI said. 

“During initial verification, [the] MPJNL received fraudulent email responses impersonating the official domain of PNB, falsely confirming the authenticity of the bank guarantees. Relying on these confirmations, [the] MPJNL awarded the three contracts to the firm,” it added. 

The agency said that the two accused were produced before a local court in Kolkata and will soon be brought to Indore on transit remand. 

“The investigation so far has revealed that a Kolkata-based syndicate has been systematically fabricating and circulating fake bank guarantees to secure government contracts across multiple states,” the CBI said, adding that further probe is on in the matter.