Ramdev (born Ram Kisan Yadav between 1965 and 1975), also known with the prefix Baba, is an Indian yoga guru and businessman. He is primarily known for being a proponent of yoga and ayurveda in India. Ramdev has been organizing and conducting large yoga camps since 2002 and broadcasting his yoga sessions on various Indian TV channels. He co-founded Patanjali Ayurved and Patanjali Yogpeeth with his colleague Balkrishna in 2006.
Ramdev is aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on some issues. In 2011–2012, he led protests against corruption in India and advocated for the repatriation of black money held in foreign banks. Ramdev has received criticism over his comments related to modern medicine, yoga, and ayurveda.
In April 2022, The Indian Express listed Ramdev as the 78th most powerful Indian.
Early life and education Ramdev, originally named Ram Kisan Yadav, was born between 1965 and 1975 in a Haryanvi family in Alipur village of Mahendragarh district of Haryana. He was born to Ram Niwas and Gulabo Devi, who were illiterate farmers. He worked as a cowherd in his parents' fields. He has an older brother, a younger brother, and a younger sister. Since childhood, the left side of his face has been partly paralyzed, possibly due to a congenital disability. He has said to found relief from his paralytic condition through yoga.
Ramdev attended a government school at Shahbazpur, Haryana until the eight standard. After reading Dayananda Saraswati's Satyarth Prakash, Ramdev quit the government school where the curriculum according to the education policy introduced by British politician Babinton Macaulay. At around the age of nine, he studied at a gurukula system in Khanpur. Ramdev attended Arsh Gurukul Mahavidyalaya from 1984 to 1989.
At the age of fourteen, he moved to Kalwa to attend a gurukula and studied under one of his principal gurus, Acharya Baldevji. This is where he met Balkrishna as a fellow student. In Kalwa, he studied the Sanskrit language and literature, Hindu philosophical and religious texts, and traditions of yoga and asceticism. While living in Kalwa, he offered free yoga training to villagers.
After completing his studies in 1992, Ramdev traveled to Haridwar to stay at the Kripalu Bagh Ashram under the guidance of Shankardevi Maharaj. At Kripalu Bagh Ashram, he learned yoga from Acharya Karamveer, also an Arya Samaj. Ramdev took vows of renunciation, adopted sannyasa, and took the name Ramdev. Ramdev and Karamveer held yoga camps throughout India and sold chyavanprash in Haridwar together. During this time, Ramdev also spent time as a meditator in Gangotri.
On 5 January 1995, Balkrishna, Ramdev, and Acharya Karamveer founded Divya Yoga Mandir Trust, which was set up at the Kripalu Bagh Ashram in Haridwar. Under the Divya Yoga Mandir Trust, they offered yoga camps and established an Ayurvedic pharmacy.
Yoga Camps Baba Ramdev is widely recognised for his association with the promotion of yoga and Ayurveda in India and abroad. He organized and taught Large-scale yoga camps held across different parts of India became a key part of Baba Ramdev’s outreach, where he conducted sessions on yoga techniques and breathing exercises aimed at promoting physical and mental well-being. These camps drew significant public participation and contributed to the wider visibility of yoga among the general public.
His yoga sessions were aired on several Indian television channels, extending their reach beyond in-person gatherings. This broadcast presence enabled wider access to yoga practices for audiences across the country.
Patanjali
Patanjali Ayurved
Ramdev started Patanjali Ayurved, a consumer packaged goods company, based in Haridwar, with Balkrishna in 2006. The company is one of the highest grossing FMCG firms in India. As a renunciate, Ramdev does not own shares. Balkrishna, the CEO of Patanjali Ayurved, has 96% ownership and supervises its day-to-day activities, while Ramdev serves as the face of the company and makes most of the business decisions. Ramdev and Balkrishna are treated like gurus and workers touch their feet as a sign of respect.
Members of Ramdev's family relocated to Haridwar and several have participated in his business ventures. His father has overseen some activities at Patanjali Ayurved. His younger brother Ram Bharat has been described as the company's de facto CEO.
Ramdev has advocated for Indian nationalism in the tradition of the swadeshi movement through the production and sale of Patanjali Ayurved products, and he has encouraged Indian citizens to reject multinational brands.
Ramdev declared net worth of his personal assets at around "₹1,100 crore" in 2013.
The company has been accused of creating misleading advertisements about its products and conducting insufficient testing before launching products in the marketplace.
In June 2020, Patanjali Ayurved announced a drug named Coronil for COVID-19 treatment, marketing it as a cure for COVID-19 patients. The day after the launch, a criminal complaint was filed against Ramdev and his partner, Balkrishna, in Muzaffarpur court by a social worker for misleading and putting the lives of a large number of people at risk. The Indian government allowed Patanjali Ayurved to market Coronil as an immunity booster but not a cure, banning it from selling as a COVID-19 cure. The Government of Maharashtra banned the sale of Coronil in the state, citing that the World Health Organisation had not certified the medicine. Lawsuits were filed in Bihar and Rajasthan against Ramdev, Balkrishna, and others, accusing them of cheating and selling fake medicines. The Madras High Court fined the company for "exploiting fear and panic among the general public by projecting a cure for the coronavirus." Patanjali withdrew the claim of Coronil being a cure for COVID-19. The UK drug regulator threatened action if the unauthorized products were sold in the UK market.
In November 2025, Baba Ramdev along with Patanjali Ayurved signed a MoU with Federal Government of Russia to promote health & wellness.
In June 2025, Baba Ramdev announced a mega food park project on 172.84 acres in Vizianagaram district. Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) had acquired ‘D' patta lands from farmers for the project.
Divya Pharmacy In 1995, Ramdev along with his close associate Balkrishna started creating ayurvedic medicines under Ramdev's guru Swami Shanker Dev's Ashram. For the initial three years until 1998, they distributed medicines for free. Later in 2003 Ramdev made Balkrishna the head of Divya Pharmacy.
Labour law violations and animal contents
In March 2005, 115 employees of Divya Yoga Mandir Trust began a protest for minimum wages and employees' rights, such as coverage under the Provident Fund and Employees' State Insurance Corporation. Management agreed to pay minimum wage and not initiate disciplinary actions against the employees protesting and, in turn, the employees agreed that they would restore normalcy in the workplace. However, the Trust refused to take back some of the employees, accusing them of committing sabotage. Their case was taken up by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions CITU, affiliated with the Communist Party of India Marxist CPI(M).
Brinda Karat, a senior figure in the CPI(M), based on dismissed workers, alleged that some medicines sold by Divya Pharmacy included animal and human matter. The dismissed employees provided samples that were tested at government laboratories, where the presence of animal materials in the sample was confirmed. Karat produced what were claimed to be the prescription and cash receipts for the samples, which were obtained from the Trust's hospital medicine counter. Ramdev denied the results and said the samples could have been doctored. Further testing conflicted with the previous tests. He received support from politicians, such as Sharad Pawar. Karat received a legal notice on behalf of a BJP leader in Faridabad, ordering her to apologize publicly or face legal action.
Patanjali Yogpeeth
Patanjali Yogpeeth is an institute founded for the promotion and practice of Yoga and Ayurveda. It has two Indian campuses, Patanjali Yogpeeth I and Patanjali Yogpeeth II in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. Other locations include UK, US, Nepal, Canada and Mauritius. Ramdev is the Vice-Chancellor of the Patanjali Yogpeeth. In 2006, Ramdev established a registered charity in the UK known as the Patanjali Yog Peeth (UK) Trust, which had the stated objective of supporting Patanjali Yogpeeth (India) through the promotion of Ayurveda and pranayama yoga in the UK. To extend Patanjali Yogpeeth, he also acquired the Scottish island of Little Cumbrae. In 2012, Ramdev established the Divya Yog Pharmacy in Haridwar.
In 2017, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) through its Delhi bench gave tax exempt status to Patanjali Yogpeeth.
In March 2018, 92 scholars of various different castes and backgrounds were initiated by Ramdev as sanyasis, or renunciants, at the Patanjali Yogpeeth in Haridwar. In 2022, Ramdev announced that sanyasis will serve as trustees of the Patanjali Yogpeeth and Divya Yoga Mandir. The sanyasis initiated by Ramdev studied Hindu scriptures for at least seven years at Patanjali Yogpeeth and a number of them have advanced degrees from universities.
In January 2026, Baba Ramdev announced to setup 2nd largest Yoga and wellness Center in Goa.
In January 2026, Ramdev through one of his company Patanjali Yogpeeth opened a hospital by the name of "Patanjali Emergency & Critical Care Hospital".
Patanjali Wellness
The Patanjali Wellness is a chain of Ayurvedic Wellness Centres, established under Patanjali Yogpeeth, which was founded in 2006 in Haridwar, India.
In 2021, Swami Ramdev and Achrya Balkrishna started Patanjali Yogpeeth as part of the larger vision of Patanjali Group. Later in 2022, its name changed to "The Patanjali Wellness". In September 2022, it is announced that Patanjali Wellness IPO will be launched along with three other group companies.
In October 2024, Patanjali Wellness Centre opened integrated holistic healthcare services in Guwahati, Assam. Hubballi's Patanjali Wellness Center built by the MWB Group. In October 2024, Assam's first Patanjali Wellness Centre launched by Riniki Bhuyan Sarma. The Patanjali Wellness Centers were established in the Indian states of Uttarakhand, Delhi, Goa, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Assam.
The Patanjali Wellness operates under the guidance of Swami Ramdev, Acharya Balkrishna and Dr. G. Srinivas Gupta Garu. The mission of Patanjali Wellness is to advance holistic treatment by integrating Yoga, Naturopathy, Panchakarma treatments, Acupressure, and benign herbs or medicinal plants.
Social and political activities
Social engagement In 2006, Ramdev was invited by Kofi Annan to deliver a lecture on poverty alleviation at a United Nations conference. In October 2014, he was one of the nine personalities invited by the Prime Minister Modi to participate and promote the message of cleanliness when Swachh Bharat Mission was launched.
In October 2025, Ramdev donated Rs. 1 crore for 2025 Punjab, India floods relief.
In January 2026, Union Home Minister Amit Shah along with Swami Ramdev inaugurated the Patanjali Emergency and Critical Care Hospital in Haridwar.
Bharat Swabhiman