Jawaharlal Nehru University, in the limelight since 9 February for the sedition controversy, has won two of the three Visitor's Awards instituted by President Pranab Mukherjee last year. The President of India is the visitor for all central universities.

JNU received the awards in the Innovation and Research categories, while Tezpur University in Assam received the Best University award, according to The Telegraph.

JNU professor Rakesh Bhatnagar JNU received the Innovation award for his vaccine and antibody against anthrax, said a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement, while JNU's Molecular Parasitology Group received the Research award for their work on malaria, amoeba and kala-azar parasites.

The BJP and PDP may soon form a government in Jammu and Kashmir, which has been under Governor's Rule since early January after the death of its chief minister, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.

The BJP's state unit president Sat Sharma told The Economic Times that, "Political environment is brewing in favour of BJP-PDP government and government would be formed soon."

On Monday, Mehbooba Mufti addressed the public in north Kashmir and said: "My father's decision is an article of faith - pather ki lakeer - for me. I don't want to do anything that will prove my father's decision wrong."

President Pranab Mukherjee will not attend the World Culture Festival organised by the Art of Living Foundation on the floodplains of the Yamuna in Delhi this week, said a statement from Rashtrapati Bhavan.

No reason was given for the President's withdrawal from the event, in which he was to preside over the valedictory function.

The event, which will be held from 11-13 March, has been the centre of a controversy after activists said such a large gathering on the floodplains of the Yamuna would create permanent environmental damage, according to The Indian Express.

The vice president of the JNU unit of the ABVP has announced that he will burn a copy of the Manusmriti, the ancient text that outlines the laws of India's caste system and the status of women in society, on International Women's Day (today).

"We will symbolically burn the Manusmriti to protest against what it says on Dalits and women," said Jatin Goraya, a final-year bachelor's student of Russian studies.

The ABVP at JNU has been divided over the Manusmriti since the suicide of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula at Hyderabad University in January, according to The Telegraph.

Former world number one Maria Sharapova has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for a banned substance at the Australian Open. The 28-year-old Russian tennis player is also the world's highest-paid female athlete. She has been using endurance-boosting Mildronate since 2006 for health issues.

The substance was added to the banned list 18 days before the Australian open this year. Maria Sharapova has admitted receiving the correspondence explaining the same, but she "didn't read" the letter. Maria Sharapova has taken "full responsibility" for her acts.

Four television news channels that aired allegedly doctored videos of the 9 February event at JNU where they claimed anti-national slogans were raised, were served legal notices on Monday by the Delhi government.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took this action after CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader D Raju and JDU leader KC Tyagi met him on 13 February to demand an independent probe. The probe found three of the seven videos sent for examination had been doctored.

The Delhi government has decided to proceed against the news channels under Section 200 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Security will be provided for Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar after he received several open as well as anonymous death threats. Minister of State (MoS) for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told agitating members in the Rajya Sabha today that the investigating agency will also probe the role of certain media organisations in airing an interpolated video of Kanhaiya's speech.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is unlikely to attend the Art of Living's mega World Culture Festival organised by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar - that he was scheduled to inaugurate.

Security concerns are being reportedly cited as the reason for Modi's nonattendance.