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Former President Pranab Mukherjee dies at 84

Published

6 years ago

2020/09/1

BY S VENKAT NARAYAN
Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, August 31: Pranab Mukherjee, India’s former President and one of the country’s most admired political leaders, died here on Monday. He was 84.

Mukherjee had suffered a fall at his Rajaji Marg house and had been operated to remove a blood clot in his brain on August 10. Doctors on Monday morning warned that there was a decline in his condition and he was in septic shock due to infection in his lung.

Soon after, his son Abhijit Mukherjee also tweeted a request to people, asking them to pray for his father. “He is a fighter & with all your good wishes & prayers , He will surely recover !” Abhijit tweeted.

Three hours later, Abhijit made the announcement on social media. “With a Heavy Heart , this is to inform you that my father Shri #PranabMukherjee has just passed away in spite of the best efforts of Doctors of RR Hospital & prayers, duas & prarthanas from people throughout India !,” Abhijit tweeted.

The veteran politician would often speak of his humble beginnings and his amazing journey from the flickers of a lamp in a small Bengal village to the chandeliers of Delhi.

A quintessential Congressman for five decades, the seven-time parliamentarian had worked as a teacher and journalist before taking his first steps in politics. His first stop in Delhi was the Rajya Sabha in 1969, the House that re-elected him four more times before he won his first Lok Sabha election from Bengal’s Jangipur in 2004. He was re-elected in 2009.

Mukherjee, who was seen as a formidable political strategist, draftsman and parliamentarian with an astute legal mind, prospered in Delhi. He first made it to Indira Gandhi’s council of ministers in 1972 and never looked back, going on to hold some of the most powerful portfolios – finance, commerce, external affairs and defence – in Congress governments.

He was considered the sharpest mind and the prime trouble-shooter in the government led by Manmohan Singh, who he had appointed as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor in the 1980s.

His last stop in public life was Rashtrapati Bhavan. Mukherjee, a nominee of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition, was elected India’s President in 2012. By the time he exited Rashtrapati Bhavan in 2017, he left the legacy of a president who spoke his mind to the government and yet, kept the bridges and friendships intact.

In January 2019, Mukherjee was also named for the country’s highest civilian award Bharat Ratna by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who described him as the “outstanding statesman of our times”.

As news of his death emerged, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to the veteran politician who had guided him when he first came to Delhi from Gujarat in 2014, ready to take charge as prime minister. “He has left an indelible mark on the development trajectory of our nation. A scholar par excellence, a towering statesman, he was admired across the political spectrum and by all sections of society,” PM Modi tweeted.

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Cabinet aporives recruitment of Nursing Instructors for Nursing Schools under the Ministry of Health and Mass Media on Contract Basis

Published

1 hour ago

2026/09/1

Priyan

There are 17 nursing schools under the Ministry of Health and Mass Media including the postgraduate primary nursing school.

There are 142 vacancies in the posts of Grade I / Special Grade Nursing Officer (Education) as on 31.03.2026 in those schools while 24 officers are to be promoted to the special grade on 31.12.2025 owing to the vacancies existing in the post of Special
Grade Nursing Officer (Education). Therefore, the number of vacancies is to be 166.

In addition, there are 24 vacancies in the post of Special Grade Nursing Officer (Education).

Although at present action has been taken to upgrade the nursing schools to nursing colleges and upgrade the nursing diploma course to nursing degree course, no action has been taken so far to carry out recruitment for the training relevant to the appointment for the post of Grade I / Special Grade Nursing Officer (Education).

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Health and Mass Media to recruit retired nursing instructors and nursing instructors who served in the nursing schools belonging to the three armed forces and are retired or have resigned legitimately from service to the post of Grade I / Special Grade Nursing Officer (Education) on contract basis.

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Signing agreement for the establishment of BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility in Sri Lanka

Published

2 hours ago

2026/09/1

Priyan

It has been decided to establish a BIMSTEC technology transfer facility in Sri Lanka by entering into a Host Country Agreement at the second leaders’ summit of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal
Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) held in New Delhi, India, in 2008, with the objective of enhancing regional cooperation.

The relevant cooperation agreement was signed by the member countries at the 5th BIMSTEC summit on 30-03-2022 in Colombo.
The prime objective of this technology transfer facility is to provide technology, capacity building, and management of intellectual property for the micro, small, and medium-scale
enterprises of the BIMSTEC member countries.

According to the cooperation agreement, an agreement should be entered into between Sri Lanka, as the host country, and BIMSTEC Secretariat for formalizing the legal status, privileges, and immunities of the technology transfer facility.

The drafted agreement has received the relevant institutional approval and legal clearance.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Science and Technology to sign the proposed agreement.

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The cabinet approves agreement on mutual legal cooperation in criminal matters between the Republic of Sri Lanka and the Republic of Korea

Published

2 hours ago

2026/09/1

Priyan

Approval has been granted at the cabinet meeting held on 11-12-2023 to sign an agreement between the Republic of Korea and the Government of Sri Lanka regarding mutual cooperation
in criminal matters.

However, according to the aforementioned approval, the relevant agreement could not be signed between both parties.

Through this agreement, opportunities will be provided
for mutual assistance to other countries in handing over judicial documents and collecting evidence for the use of criminal case matters.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution provided by the Minister of Justice and National Integration to sign an agreement between the Republic of Korea and the Government of Sri Lanka to cooperate in criminal matters.