When our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi first proposed to the United Nations in 2014 that June 21 be recognized as the International Day of Yoga, like many Yoga Practitioners, I felt an immense sense of pride. Within just three months, 177 nations supported the resolution — one of the fastest and most widely backed in UN history. It was a powerful reminder of how India’s ancient wisdom still holds relevance in the modern times.
Every year since, I watched with joy as millions of people across continents roll out their mats on June 21 to celebrate yoga – a massive mindfulness movement began across the globe - from Times Square in New York to the iconic square on the Strand in London. Under PM’s leadership, yoga evolved from ancient practice into a universal language of health and harmony blurring cultural boundaries and positioning India’s soft power at its best as “Vishwa Guru”.
As someone who recovered from a severe chronic lifestyle disease through yoga, I turned my pain into a bigger purpose and pivoted my personal transformational journey into building startup and creating YogiFi, world’s first AI-powered Smart Yoga Mat, blending ancient wisdom with modern technology.
With YogiFi, my vision has been to offer people a personal yoga coach anywhere/anytime — correcting postures in real time, recommending personalized programs, and helping users stay consistent with their practice. Our mission has been to amplify the accessibility of yoga while staying true to its authenticity while making the practice inclusive for every-body, whether you are a beginner at home or a busy professional, or a senior focusing on mobility.
As I see growing community on our app leaderboard, people showing up on their YogiFi mats, either to improve their own health or inspire others to transform, has been one of the most fulfilling parts of my entrepreneurial journey.
But this path would not have been possible without the supportive ecosystem shaped by Prime Minister Modi’s initiatives such as Startup India and Make in India. When Startup India was launched, it sent a strong message to entrepreneurs like me: innovation and risk-taking would be encouraged, not burdened by bureaucracy. The access to seed funding, tax incentives, mentorship, and simplified processes gave me the confidence to dream bigger.
Equally transformative was the Make in India initiative. We were determined to build our smart yoga mats in India, not just for the sake of cost, but because it mattered to us that something born out of India’s cultural heritage should also be manufactured here. Thanks to the push for local innovation and manufacturing, YogiFi could design and produce advanced hardware domestically, proudly carrying the “Made in India, for the World” identity.
Looking back, I realize that YogiFi is not just a product or platform—it represents how ancient science and cutting-edge innovation can come together to shape the future of evidence backed wellness. Prime Minister Modi’s global advocacy for yoga created the inspiration, and his government’s startup-friendly policies laid strong foundation for entrepreneurs like me to dream big and take risks to position India as the world leader in health-tech innovation.
With global wellness economy worth $4 trillion, India has a great potential to turn yoga and ayurveda into mainstream. What excites me personally is the deeper purpose, that we can improve lives, reduce stress, fitter future citizens and create healthier communities worldwide.
Inspired by Modiji’s vision of “Viksit Bharat”, in my role as an entrepreneur, I am committed to contribute to nation’s economic growth, not as job seeker, but as a job creator.
