National Financial News

Sethuraman of Petroleum Sports Promotion Board emerged champion in the 60th National Chess Championship here on Saturday, after settling for a draw in the ninth and final round to finish with 9.5 points. Sethuraman drew his 11th and final game against Mitrabha Guha (West Bengal) as the top players chose to play it safe in the concluding round. Sethuraman remained unbeaten through the 11 rounds, recording eight wins and three draws.

National Exhibition of Art will be organised at the Lalit Kala Akademi campus here from August 28, veteran painter and Akademi chairman V Nagdas announced on Friday. The annual art event will be inaugurated by actor Manoj Joshi, writer Chandraprakash Dwivedi and artist Vasudeo Kamath at Kamani Auditorium. The National Exhibition of Art (NEA) every year calls for works of visual art from different genres, including painting, sculpture, print making, photography, digital art, video art and installations. The exhibition will showcase works by a total of 20 artists from across India, who were selected for the National Akademi Award from a total of 2,291 applicants with 5,714 entries. The 20 exhibiting artists will receive the award at the inaugural ceremony in the form of a plaque, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh. Talking about the exhibition and award, Nagdas said the NEA is the most anticipated art event of the country and the Akademi Awards bring artists name, fame and future opportunities. The Lalit Kala Akademi (LKA) has devised a few collateral and complementary events to add more colour to the NEA, said the chairman. «There will be illustrated lectures, curatorial walks and interactive gallery sessions at the LKA while the NEA is on.

"The Kashmir Files" winning the Nargis Dutt award for best film on national integration is very unfortunate and nothing can be more ironic than this, the National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party said here on Friday. "There is not a single scene in that movie that depicts national integration.... Unfortunately, the movie only shows Kashmiri Muslims in bad light.

Hollywood embraces the art of sequels, the National Association of Theater Owners is resurrecting National Cinema Day after its remarkable debut last year. The enticing event drew over 8 million moviegoers with $3 tickets, and now, over 3,000 theaters are gearing up for its return. Set for Sunday, August 27, National Cinema Day offers tickets at $4 each, including for premium formats like IMAX and Dolby.

National Banana Split Day is celebrated on August 25 in the US. National Banana Split Day commemorates the delightful frozen dessert featuring ice cream, a banana, whipped cream, and an array of toppings. This delectable treat is celebrated annually on August 25. The origin of the banana split's delectable reputation dates back to its introduction in American drug stores, soda fountains, and ice cream parlors.

ALSO READ: 69th National Film Awards: Alia Bhatt, Kriti Sanon share best actress award, Allu Arjun wins for Pushpa. Check full list Rocketry: The Nambi Effect 'The Kashmir Files' wins Nargis Dutt award for best film on national integration.

Kangana Ranaut failed to bag a National Award this year even after being a strong contender. However, the ‘Queen’ was a complete sport about the failure and congratulated the winners. Taking to Instagram Stories, the ‘Tanu Weds Manu’ actress wrote, “Congratulations to all the winners of #nationalawards2023. It's such an art carnival that brings all the artists across the country together...It's truly magical to know and to get introduced to so much important work that's happening across all languages (sic)." She also thanked fans who rooted for her and wrote that she is happy with whatever Lord Krishna granted her.

Allu Arjun has created history. The superstar became the first Telugu artist to bag a National Award in the category of ‘Best Actor’ for the 2021 action drama ‘Pushpa: The Rise’. A video of the actor getting emotional as he is congratulated by the ‘Pushpa’ team has gone viral on Twitter. Mythri Movie Makers, the producer of ‘Pushpa’ shared the video on Twitter and wrote, “Maverick director @aryasukku and our producers #NaveenYerneni garu and #RaviShankar garu shower their happiness and love on Icon Star @alluarjun for becoming THE FIRST ACTOR FROM TFI to win the BEST ACTOR at the National Awards.” In the video, the ‘Sarrainodu’ is seen being hugged by the director Sukumar, as the rest of the cast and crew cheers on. The video went viral on the microblogging website, gaining 690K views and 21K likes. One Twitter user wrote, “In 69 ears first actor from TFI to win national award ante Greatest achievement for BhAAi.” Another fan wrote, “ First Actor from TFI to get the National Award in the Best Actor category… This is just the beginning… Your have seen AA's Rise… You will witness AA's Rule very soon!” Superstar Chiranjeevi Konidela gave a shout out to the ‘Desamuduru’ actor. “ Heartiest Congratulations to All The Award Winners of 69 th National Film Awards 2021!!! Also Proud Moment for Telugu Cinema.

A post shared by Mythri Movie Makers (@mythriofficial) With this award, Allu Arjun created history by becoming the first actor from Telugu film industry to win the National Film Award. The event was held at the National Media Centre in Delhi.

Malayalam film industry on Thursday bagged quite a few awards and mentions in the 69th national film awards, with senior actor Indrans receiving a special jury mention and the movie, 'Home', in which he played the protagonist, adjudged the best Malayalam film. The 2023 National Awards were announced by filmmaker Ketan Mehta who headed the 11-member jury. Another noted Malayalam movie, 'Nayattu' that featured actors Joju George, Nimisha Sajayan and Kunchacko Boban, won the national award for Best Screenplay (Original) for writer Shahi Kabir.

Sircar said the team, including lead star Vicky Kaushal, were dedicating the honour to late actor Irrfan Khan, who was originally set to portray the central character.The director and Irrfan collaborated in the 2015 film 'Piku'. The actor passed away in April 2020 after a two year-long battle with a rare form of cancer, had to leave "Sardar Udham" as he was ailing. «Me, my team, my producer Ronnie Lahiri, Sheel, Vicky Kaushal and the entire team (of 'Sardar Udham') want to dedicate this National award to the late Irrfan Khan,» Sircar told PTI in an interview. «I miss him every day.

Thalaivii for not getting any awards at the 69th National Film Awards on Thursday evening. "All of you who are disappointed that my film Thalaivii didn't win any... please know I am eternally grateful for whatever Krishna gave and didn't give me and all of you who really love and appreciate me must appreciate my perspective as well ...

Sarbananda Sonowal, on Thursday said that in the Northeast, 20 National Waterways and various projects of more than Rs 800 crores are being implemented for development of these National Waterways in the region. He added attended the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) to use National Waterways-2 (Brahmaputra) and Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBPR) for export of petroleum products to Bangladesh and other south east Asian countries. The MoU is aimed at powering PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan to boost India’s Act East Policy. NRL will export around 10,000 MT of Petroleum & Petrochemical products per month from IWAI Jogighopa Multi Modal terminal.

Anurag Thakur, the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, on Thursday, congratulated the winners of the 69th National Film Awards and spoke about the potential of India becoming “the content hub of the world." Thakur, while talking to the media said, «The jury members of the 69th National Film Awards met me today and handed the report. They have gone through a long list of movies which included feature films, non feature films and writing on cinema. India produced quality content even during the Covid 19 pandemic. The jury members told me that many beautiful films came in the year 2021.» Drawing attention to the fierce competition that unfolded across each award category, he continued, «It was a very tough competition between all the films in every category. My congratulations and best wishes are with the winners. Today India is the largest film-maker in the world. We have the potential to become the content hub of the world. This is our time. Today our films are being recognised all over the world, be it BAFTA or the Oscars.» «The Jury will again sit for the next National Film Awards 2022 soon. Indian cinema is going to conquer the world. My best wishes to all the stakeholders,» Thakur concluded. The winners for the 69th National Film Awards were announced on Thursday with actors Allu Arjun, Alia Bhatt and Kriti Sanon taking home the Best Actor and Actress trophies.

The 69th National Film Awards was announced on Thursday during a press conference by the Jury at the National Media Center New Delhi. The Jury members for National Film Awards handed over the list of awardees for feature, non-feature and best script category to Union I&B Minister Anurag Thakur.

National Curriculum Framework for school education, which promises to usher in greater curricular flexibility and choice for students. There will be a greater focus on Indian languages.

Besides Lalan, who is also the leader of the JD(U)'s parliamentary party, other prominent names in the list include veteran leader KC Tyagi, one of the most visible faces in the media, who holds the designation of «special advisor and chief spokesman». All members of the party in both Houses of Parliament, except Harivansh, the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman, figure in the list and so do all JD(U) ministers in the state cabinet. The party has 16 MPs, all from Bihar, in the Lok Sabha, and five, including Harivansh, in the Rajya Sabha.

Pakistan's cash-strapped national carrier has grounded 11 aircraft, including three of its Boeing 777s, due to unavailability of funds to carry out replacement of parts. An official in the Pakis-tan International Airlines (PIA) said the top management has grounded 11 planes in the last three years as there was a financial crisis prevailing in the airline and the increase in dollar rates and petroleum products had not helped the situation. The official, who didn't want to disclose his name, said that 11 out of 31 aircraft operated by the PIA on international and domestic routes were grounded at the Karachi and Islamabad airports. «The financial crisis has meant the airlines are not in a position to purchase spare parts since last year leading to the grounding of these aircraft gradually,» he disclosed. The previous government led by Shahbaz Sharif had appointed a new MD in PIA and unveiled its plans to privatise the national airline, an announcement which has been met with fierce resistance from the various unions in the airline. Some of the unions have gone on a strike and the official said this had not helped matters as well. Two of the three wide-body Boeing 777 aircraft were grounded in 2020 and one in 2021.

Bihar cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal to allow in-service doctors of different government medical colleges to opt for Diplomate of National Board (DNB) courses run by the Centre's National Board of Examination (NBE) on successful completion of their postgraduate residency. In-service doctors, who will take admission in DNB courses, will have to mandatorily serve in Bihar as per rules.

Sachin Tendulkar will on Wednesday be designated as a «national icon» of the Election Commission (EC) to encourage greater voter participation in the electoral process. A memorandum of understanding will be signed between Tendulkar and the poll panel on Wednesday. As part of the three-year agreement, Tendulkar will spread voter awareness. «This collaboration would mark a significant step towards leveraging Tendulkar's unparalleled impact with the youth for increasing voters' participation in the forthcoming elections, especially in general elections (to Lok Sabha), 2024,» the EC said in a statement. Through the partnership, the EC seeks to address the challenges of urban and youth apathy toward voting. The EC has been associating itself with renowned Indians from various fields by designating them as its «national icons» to motivate voters to participate in the electoral process.

National Cinema Day, set for this Sunday, August 27, featuring discounted movie tickets across 3,000 participating theaters and 30,000 screens. The event offers admission to all movies and formats for a maximum price of $4. Last year's edition, held on September 3 during the Labor Day weekend, drew 8.1 million attendees to theaters, generating $24 million in revenue – an 8% increase from the previous Saturday and the most attended movie day of 2022. Despite ongoing challenges from the slow recovery due to Covid, the event provided a boost to the cinema industry. The event will showcase various movies, including recent releases and re-releases. Notable releases for Cinema Day include The Hill, Golda, Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story, Retribution and Bottoms. These films will join popular hits like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Oppenheimer, Barbie and Sound of Freedom. Additionally, re-releases like American Graffiti, Jurassic Park (3D) and Greta Gerwig’s 2017 Lady Bird from A24 will be screened. Jackie Brenneman, president of The Cinema Foundation, expressed enthusiasm for the event, encouraging people to relish the experience of cinema. She highlighted the significant participation of exhibitors and distributors with movies in the market, emphasizing the collaborative effort behind the event. Michael O’Leary, CEO of NATO, stated that movies possess the ability to bring people together and create a shared experience on the big screen. He acknowledged the importance of celebrating the moviegoing experience and the vital role of theaters within communities.