New Delhi: The ministry of ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha and homoeopathy (AYUSH) is organizing an open contest to pick a Hindi song to popularize yoga.

The winner will be rewarded with a cash prize of Rs.5 lakh. The deadline for submission of entries is 5pm on 31 March 2016.

“We want to attract attention of the world towards Yoga. The song will help us take the message to everyone,” said Ramanand Meena, deputy secretary, ministry of AYUSH.

The song should have simple lyrics that can be easily understood.

“The Yoga Song or Yog Geet shall capture the essence of Yoga in terms of its philosophy, utility to the common man etc. It shall be in lucid simple language, which will be understood by the common mass,” read a statement by the ministry.

The contest is being held ahead of the second International Yoga Day on 21 June 2016.