1) Shubha Mudgal to be awarded Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award.
- The advisory committee of the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award decided that the 23rd Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award will be given to Shubha Mudgal.
- Mudgal will be honoured for her outstanding contribution towards the promotion of communal harmony, peace and goodwill.
- The singer will be presented with the Award on 20 August 2016 at Jawahar Bhawan Auditorium.
About Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award:
- Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award is an Indian award given for outstanding contribution towards promotion of communal harmony, national integration and peace.
- The award was instituted by All India Congress Committee of the Indian National Congress Party in 1992.
- It is given on 20 August, the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi, which is celebrated as Sadbhavna Diwas.
2) Artist Anita Gopalan gets PEN/Heim grant.
- Translator and artist Anita Gopalan has been awarded the 2016 PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant for her English translation of Hindi novel ``Simsim`` by Geet Chaturvedi.
- Ms. Gopalan, who is based in Bengaluru, is the second Indian translator to be selected for the grant.
- PEN America is a renowned literary organisation of the United States.
3) Shubha Mudgal to get Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award.
- Singer Shubha Mudgal has been selected for the prestigious the 23rd Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award 2016.
- She will get Award for her outstanding contribution towards the promotion of communal harmony, peace and goodwill.
- Shubha Mudgal is a well-known Indian singer of Hindustani classical music, Thumri, Khayal, Dadra and popular Indian pop music.
- She was born in an academic family to Skand and Jaya Gupta in Allahabad.
- She was also awarded the 1996 National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film Music Direction for `Amrit Beej`. She was honoured with Padma Shri in 2000.
- The Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award is given on the occasion of the birthday of Rajiv Gandhi.
4) Irani to present Sant Kabir and National awards on 2nd National Handloom Day.
- Union Textiles Minister to present Sant Kabir Awards and National Handloom Awards The second National Handloom Day will be celebrated all over the country, the main function will be held in Varanasi in which Sant Kabir Awards and National Handloom Awards will be presented.
- 7th August was notified by the Government of India as National Handloom Day vide Gazette Notification, 2015 with the objective to generate awareness about the importance of handloom industry and its contribution to the socioeconomic development of the country in general and to promote handlooms, increase income of weavers and enhance their pride in particular.
5) Tamilnadu CM gives cash awards to five sportspersons.
- Five sportspersons from Tamil Nadu, including a differently-abled woman who had won honours in international contests, have been given away a total cash incentive of Rs. 1.45 crore by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa.
- Jayalalithaa presented a cheque for Rs. 25 lakh to Jenitha Anto of Tiruchirappalli for winning an international chess tournament for the differently abled held in Serbia.
- Anto had won the tournament for the fourth time. Jayalalithaa also gave away a total cash incentive of Rs. 1.20 crore to four other sportspersons who had won medals in different events at the World School Athletics Championship in Turkey.
- She gave a cheque for Rs. 55 lakh to C. Ajith Kumar for winning three medals in the competition including gold in medley relay.
- R. Naveen was presented with Rs 25 lakh for winning gold in medley relay while L. Samayasri and S. Priyadarshini were given Rs. 20 lakh each for winning silver in Women’s medley relay and Triple Jump, respectively.