Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said thatAYUSH and Yoga are two strong pillars of the 'Fit India' movement, which helaunched amid much fanfare at Delhi's Indira Gandhi Stadium on Thursday.Addressing a gathering on the occasion, the PM said that Mahatma Gandhi used tobelieve that naturopathy is a way of living. The Prime Minister further said thatIndia has vast and ancient texts highlighting the importance of Ayurveda andYoga. Giving away Yoga Awards to the winners for Outstanding Contribution forPromotion and Development of Yoga in New Delhi, PM Modi said he makes full useof Yoga and Ayurveda in his life.

He said that attending a program related to Ayush and Yogaon the very next day of the launch of Fit India is a strange coincidence. Duringthe ceremony, PM Modi released 12 commemorative postage stamps to honoureminent scholars, practitioners and Great Master Healers of AYUSH Systems.Takinga dig at the previous Congress-led governments, the PM asked if a postal stampon those who had dedicated their whole life promoting Yoga and AYUSH could everbe released in those times.   

''This is a new India where surnames of the youth don'tmatter, what matters is their ability to make their own name. New India isn'tabout the voice of select few but each Indian. This is an India wherecorruption is never an option, whoever the person is. Competence is the normnow,'' the PM said.These commemorative postal stamps highlight the great workand acknowledge the achievements of the Great Master Healers of AYUSH Systems. Healso launched ten AYUSH Health and Wellness Centres located in Haryana.

This is in line with Ministry of AYUSH’s commitment tomaking 12 thousand 500 AYUSH Health and Wellness Centres functional in nextthree years.The main focus of these centres will be empowering the communityfor self-care by imbibing AYUSH based healthy food and lifestyle, socialbehaviour and use of medicinal plants for primary health care.