New Delhi:
The Department of Science and Technology (DST) received 478 proposals under the SATYAM programme to study effects of yoga and meditation in fighting COVID-19, Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said on Friday.
In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, Singh said of the 478 proposals, 52 were finally supported by the DST.
The DST has been implementing the 'Science and Technology of Yoga and Meditation (SATYAM)' Programme since the year 2015-16 to promote scientific research in the field of yoga and meditation in order to understand its role in human well-being.
''During the year 2020-21, the department had announced a special call under SATYAM programme to combat with COVID-19 and related viruses in order to explore the effect of yoga and meditation as add on therapy under three broad thematic areas viz. immunity, respiratory system and stress, anxiety and depression,'' Singh said.
''The department has received 478 proposals under this call and finally supported 52 projects in said thematic areas," he added. In the last two financial years, a total 91 projects have been sanctioned in the SATYAM programme under Cognitive Science Research Initiative (CSRI), he added.