Nagpur, Sept 6 : President Pratibha Patil will arrive here this morning on a two-day visit to Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.

After reaching Nagpur by a special flight, the President will fly to Achalpur in Amravati District for laying the foundation stone of Finlay Mills.

After an overnight stay at Amravati, the president will flag off a twice-a-week Amravati-Mumbai train on Sunday afternoon and lay the foundation stone for modernization of Amravati Railway Station.

New Delhi, Sep 5 : President Pratibha Patil will distribute National Awards to teachers for the year 2007 here today.

These awards are being presented every year to accord public recognition to meritorious school teachers.

This year altogether 320 teachers have been nominated. Of these, 82 are lady women teachers. Nine teachers have been nominated under Sanskrit category and five are for teaching in Madarasas. Thirteen teachers fall under the Special category.

New Delhi, Sep 2 : President Pratibha Patil will give away the 54th national film awards here this evening. 

Eminent Film Director Tapan Sinha will receive the Dada Saheb Phalke award for the year 2006. The award is given by the Government of India for outstanding contribution in the field of Indian cinema.

The award carries a cash price of Rs. ten lakhs, a swaran kamal and a shawl. Tapan’s work has won 19 national film awards in various categories apart from laurels in international film festivals.

New Delhi, Sep 1 : A delegation of Christians met President Pratibha Devisingh Patil on Monday to apprise her of the situation in Orissa in the wake of religious violence sparked by the killing of a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader.

The violence was sparked in communally sensitive area when on Saturday about 30 heavily armed men raided a Hindu religious home housing mostly orphans in the rural Kandhamal district and killed five people, including a religious leader Swami Lakshmananda linked to VHP and opposed to conversion of tribals to Christianity.

New Delhi, Aug 24 : President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today greeted the countrymen on the auspicious occasion of Janmashtami.

President Patil in her massage said, "On the auspicious occasion of Janmashtami, I extend my greetings and best wishes to everyone."

"The life and teachings of Lord Krishna have a universal message, as they signify the triumph of virtue over vice and righteousness over evil and constitute a rejection of intolerance and narrow mindedness," Patil added.

Kolkata, Aug 23 : President Pratibha Patil arrived here today on a two-day visit to West Bengal.

Patil, who arrived in a special IAF plane, was received at the NSC Bose International airport by the Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi and Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee.

This will be the President''s first visit to West Bengal since she assumed the highest office of the country.

During her visit, the President will participate in the celebrations of 225 years of the Asiatic Society.